Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
US Judge Strikes Down California Ban on Handgun Ads
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 7 years ago on
September 12, 2018

Share

SAN FRANCISCO — A U.S. judge on Tuesday struck down a nearly century-old California law that banned handgun ads at gun shops, saying the state failed to show it would prevent suicides or crime.

“The Government may not restrict speech that persuades adults, who are neither criminals nor suffer from mental illness, from purchasing a legal and constitutionally protected product.” Judge Troy Nunley
The 1923 law banned any handgun ads at gun shops that were visible from outside the store. State officials argued the ads would spur impulsive people to buy a handgun, and impulsive people are more prone to suicide and crime.
The law, however, did not restrict ads for other firearms.
Judge Troy Nunley in Sacramento noted in his ruling that gun shops could display a large neon sign reading, “GUNS GUNS GUNS” or a 15-foot depiction of a sporting rifle. The judge said they could also place ads for handguns elsewhere such as on a billboard blocks away.
“The Government may not restrict speech that persuades adults, who are neither criminals nor suffer from mental illness, from purchasing a legal and constitutionally protected product, merely because it distrusts their personality trait and the decisions that personality trait may lead them to make later down the road,” Nunley said.

Preventing Handgun Violence Without Restricting Speech

California has other laws that could prevent handgun violence without restricting speech in violation of the First Amendment, the judge said.

“The government cannot censor commercial speech in a paternalistic effort to keep citizens from making unpopular choices – or choices the government doesn’t approve – if they are told the truth.” — Brad Benbrook, an attorney for the plaintiffs
The ruling came in a lawsuit filed in 2014 by several gun dealers who were fined by the state for handgun ads.
“If you are someone who is providing a constitutionally protected product or service, you should be able to communicate that to people in the same way a bookseller should be able to advertise they sell Bibles and Qurans,” said Brandon Combs, executive director of The Calguns Foundation, a gun rights group. “Dealers should be able to say they sell handguns.”
A spokeswoman for the state attorney general’s office, which defended the law, said the office was reviewing the decision.
The state Department of Justice cited one of the plaintiffs, Ten Percent Firearms, for a metal sign shaped like a revolver in the store’s parking lot that an inspector spotted in 2010, according to Nunley’s ruling. Another plaintiff, Tracy Rifle and Pistol, received a citation after an inspector in 2014 found large vinyl decals depicting three handguns on the store’s windows.
“As the Court explained today, the government cannot censor commercial speech in a paternalistic effort to keep citizens from making unpopular choices – or choices the government doesn’t approve – if they are told the truth,” Brad Benbrook, an attorney for the plaintiffs said in a statement.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Townsizing? Land Snorkeling? A User’s Guide to the Latest Travel Lingo

DON'T MISS

Trump Trade War Has Already Had Huge Effect on California Ports

DON'T MISS

Cambodian American Chefs Are Finding Success and Raising Their Culture’s Profile. On Their Terms

DON'T MISS

Ancient DNA Reveals a New Group of People Who Lived Near Land Bridge Between the Americas

DON'T MISS

FDA Approves Moderna’s New Lower-Dose COVID-19 Vaccine

DON'T MISS

Cabrera, Three Relievers Combine to Lead Marlins to Win Over Giants

DON'T MISS

Spike in Steel Tariffs Could Imperil Trump Promise of Lower Grocery Prices

DON'T MISS

Dodgers’ Mookie Betts Out With Broken Toe After Late-Night Bedroom Mishap

DON'T MISS

California Gubernatorial Candidate Steve Hilton Vows to Repeal Transgender Athlete Law

DON'T MISS

Trans Athlete Competes in California Championships in Clovis Despite National Controversy

UP NEXT

How Gentrification Is Killing the Bus: California’s Rising Rents Are Pushing Out Commuters

UP NEXT

Loretta Swit, Emmy-winner Who Played Houlihan on Pioneering TV Series ‘M.A.S.H.,’ Has Died at 87

UP NEXT

Medicaid Work Rules Could Leave a Million Californians With No Health Insurance

UP NEXT

California Lawmaker Won’t Be Charged After Citation for Suspicion of Impaired Driving

UP NEXT

1 in 4 US Children Have Parents With Substance Use Disorder, Study Finds

UP NEXT

Dozens Sickened in Expanding Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Recalled Cucumbers

UP NEXT

Newsom Tussles With Local Officials Over Homelessness

UP NEXT

How Trump’s Vow to Revoke Chinese Student Visas Could Hurt California

UP NEXT

Speaker Johnson Raises Campaign Money in Fresno

UP NEXT

A Program Paying CA Jurors $100 a Day Would End Due to Newsom’s Budget Cuts

Ancient DNA Reveals a New Group of People Who Lived Near Land Bridge Between the Americas

4 hours ago

FDA Approves Moderna’s New Lower-Dose COVID-19 Vaccine

18 hours ago

Cabrera, Three Relievers Combine to Lead Marlins to Win Over Giants

18 hours ago

Spike in Steel Tariffs Could Imperil Trump Promise of Lower Grocery Prices

18 hours ago

Dodgers’ Mookie Betts Out With Broken Toe After Late-Night Bedroom Mishap

18 hours ago

California Gubernatorial Candidate Steve Hilton Vows to Repeal Transgender Athlete Law

23 hours ago

Trans Athlete Competes in California Championships in Clovis Despite National Controversy

1 day ago

Tim Walz Urges Democrats to Fight Back Harder Against ‘Bully’ Trump

1 day ago

US Defense Secretary Warns Indo-Pacific Allies of ‘Imminent’ Threat From China

1 day ago

Hamas Responds to the US Ceasefire Proposal for Gaza While Seeking Amendments

1 day ago

Townsizing? Land Snorkeling? A User’s Guide to the Latest Travel Lingo

For your next trip, have you considered townsizing? What about choosing a detour destination? And instead of forest-bathing, maybe it’...

4 hours ago

4 hours ago

Townsizing? Land Snorkeling? A User’s Guide to the Latest Travel Lingo

4 hours ago

Trump Trade War Has Already Had Huge Effect on California Ports

4 hours ago

Cambodian American Chefs Are Finding Success and Raising Their Culture’s Profile. On Their Terms

4 hours ago

Ancient DNA Reveals a New Group of People Who Lived Near Land Bridge Between the Americas

18 hours ago

FDA Approves Moderna’s New Lower-Dose COVID-19 Vaccine

18 hours ago

Cabrera, Three Relievers Combine to Lead Marlins to Win Over Giants

18 hours ago

Spike in Steel Tariffs Could Imperil Trump Promise of Lower Grocery Prices

18 hours ago

Dodgers’ Mookie Betts Out With Broken Toe After Late-Night Bedroom Mishap

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend