Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Judge Tosses California Ammunition Purchase Law
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
April 24, 2020

Share

SACRAMENTO — A federal judge on Thursday blocked a California law requiring background checks for people buying ammunition, issuing a sharply worded rebuke of “onerous and convoluted” regulations that violate the constitutional right to bear arms.

The experiment has been tried. The casualties have been counted. California’s new ammunition background check law misfires and the Second Amendment rights of California citizens have been gravely injured.” — U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez

U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez in San Diego ruled in favor of the California Rifle & Pistol Association, which asked him to stop the checks and related restrictions on ammo sales.

“The experiment has been tried. The casualties have been counted. California’s new ammunition background check law misfires and the Second Amendment rights of California citizens have been gravely injured,” Benitez wrote in a 120-page opinion granting the group’s motion for a preliminary injunction.

Voters approved toughening California’s already strict firearms laws in 2016, and the restrictions took effect last July.

New York was the first state to require a comprehensive ammunition background check system for each sale, but it never took effect. That left California as the first to the extend firearm background checks to each ammunition sale.

Four other states — Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts and New Jersey — require buyers to undergo background checks to obtain firearms or ammunition licenses that they must show when buying bullets, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Hannah Shearer, the center’s litigation director, called the ruling “a dangerous step in the wrong direction” at a time when gun stores are seeing increased sales to those worried about the effect of coronavirus on society or their safety.

Photo of people lining up outside of a gun store
People wait in a line to enter a gun store in Culver City, Calif., Sunday, March 15, 2020. Coronavirus concerns have led to consumer panic buying of grocery staples, and now gun stores are seeing a similar run on weapons and ammunition as panic intensifies. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

Gov. Gavin Newsom Championed the Law Before He Became Governor

“The law’s red tape and state database errors made it impossible for hundreds of thousands of law-abiding Californians to purchase ammunition for sport or self-defense,” said Chuck Michel, the association’s general counsel. “The court found that the flimsy reasons offered by the government to justify these constitutional infringements were inadequate.”

He expected the state to appeal the ruling. But in the meantime “Californians can sleep a little easier tonight knowing their Constitutional rights were restored and strengthened by this decision,” he said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom championed the law before he became governor, and spokeswoman Vicky Waters said his administration is disappointed by the decision and considering its next steps. “California’s strong gun safety laws help keep our schools and communities safe,” she said.

The state attorney general’s office said only that it is reviewing the decision. It did not immediately say if it will appeal or seek to stay the order, which takes effect immediately at a time when some California gun stores have been ordered shut because of the coronavirus. Among the places where the shops were not deemed essential businesses are Los Angeles and San Jose.

The same judge’s decision last year striking down the state’s ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines sparked a week-long buying frenzy before he halted sales while the state appeals his ruling. Gun owners similarly rushed to stockpile ammunition before the new restrictions took effect last summer.

Benitez called the ammunition background check law “onerous and convoluted” and “constitutionally defective.”

It Took an Average of Less Than 5 Minutes to Complete the Background Checks

“Criminals, tyrants, and terrorists don’t do background checks,” he wrote. “The background check experiment defies common sense while unduly and severely burdening the Second Amendment rights of every responsible, gun-owning citizen desiring to lawfully buy ammunition.”

Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a court filing earlier this month that the background checks stopped more than 750 people from buying bullets illegally from July 2019 through January 2020, not including those who didn’t even try because they knew they weren’t eligible.

While it is intended to keep ammunition from criminals, it blocked sales to legitimate, law-abiding buyers about 16% of the time, he wrote. Moreover, he ruled that the state’s ban on importing ammunition from outside California violates federal interstate commerce laws.

Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a court filing earlier this month that the background checks stopped more than 750 people from buying bullets illegally from July 2019 through January 2020, not including those who didn’t even try because they knew they weren’t eligible.

The law requires buyers who already are in the state’s firearm background check database to pay a $1 fee each time they buy ammunition, while others can buy longer-term licenses if they do not have certain criminal convictions or mental health commitments.

It took an average of less than 5 minutes to complete the background checks, according to state court filings.

“There is no substantial impediment,” the state said in court documents. “Ammunition purchasers must pass an eligibility check that, in the vast majority of cases, delays a purchase by a few minutes.”

Benitez ruled that the ammunition law illegally locks out-of-state vendors out of California’s market, and that it conflicts with a federal law allowing gun owners to bring their firearms and ammunition through California.

The lawsuit by California Rifle & Pistol Association was joined by out-of-state ammunition sellers and California residents, including Kim Rhode. She has won six Olympic shooting medals.

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

Sanger Police Seek Public’s Help to Find Missing Teen

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Everyone Should Immediately Evacuate Tehran

DON'T MISS

Inside Trump’s Extraordinary Turnaround on Immigration Raids

DON'T MISS

Trump Approval Steady at 42%, Support Weakens for His Immigration Policy, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

DON'T MISS

Person Rescued from Fresno Canal, Third Incident in Recent Days

DON'T MISS

Arias Dodges Questions About His False Fresno ICE Raid Claim

DON'T MISS

Iranian State TV Halts Live Broadcast After Israeli Strike

DON'T MISS

Global Markets Recover on Iran Ceasefire Reports, Central Banks in Focus

DON'T MISS

Madera Man Sentenced to Over 21 Years for Fentanyl, Meth Trafficking

DON'T MISS

Touring a Tunnel That Leads Underneath a Hospital in Southern Gaza

UP NEXT

Gov. Newsom Lambasts Trump for Giving Immigrants’ Health Data to Deportation Officials

UP NEXT

‘We Will Kill You Dead’: Florida Sheriff’s Stark Warning to Demonstrators

UP NEXT

US Marines Carry out First Known Detention of Civilian in Los Angeles, Video Shows

UP NEXT

Here’s What to Expect at the Army’s 250th Anniversary Parade on Trump’s Birthday

UP NEXT

California Opens Investigation Into State Farm

UP NEXT

California Police Are Illegally Sharing License Plate Data With ICE and Border Patrol

UP NEXT

Trump Can Keep National Guard Deployed to Los Angeles for Now, Appeals Court Rules

UP NEXT

Judge Temporarily Bars Trump From Deploying National Guard Troops in Los Angeles

UP NEXT

US House Passes Trump Cuts of $9.4 Billion for Foreign Aid, Broadcasting

UP NEXT

Tulare County Inmate Found Unresponsive in Cell, Autopsy Pending

Inside Trump’s Extraordinary Turnaround on Immigration Raids

16 hours ago

Trump Approval Steady at 42%, Support Weakens for His Immigration Policy, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

16 hours ago

Person Rescued from Fresno Canal, Third Incident in Recent Days

16 hours ago

Arias Dodges Questions About His False Fresno ICE Raid Claim

16 hours ago

Iranian State TV Halts Live Broadcast After Israeli Strike

18 hours ago

Global Markets Recover on Iran Ceasefire Reports, Central Banks in Focus

18 hours ago

Madera Man Sentenced to Over 21 Years for Fentanyl, Meth Trafficking

18 hours ago

Touring a Tunnel That Leads Underneath a Hospital in Southern Gaza

18 hours ago

Suspect in Minnesota Lawmaker Killing Visited Other Legislators’ Homes, Prosecutors Say

19 hours ago

Spyware From US-Backed Israeli Firm Targeted European Journalists, Report Finds

19 hours ago

Madera County Wildfire Prompts Evacuation Warnings, Road Closures

A wildfire burning near Raymond Road and Avenue 16 in Madera County has prompted evacuation warnings and road closures, authorities said Mon...

14 hours ago

A wildfire near Raymond Road and Avenue 16 in Madera County has prompted evacuation warnings and road closures as officials urge residents to prepare to leave if threatened on Monday, June 16, 2025. (Madera County SO)
14 hours ago

Madera County Wildfire Prompts Evacuation Warnings, Road Closures

Sanger police are searching for Kaylani Thompson, 17, who went missing Saturday, June 14, 2025, after leaving her home and was last seen getting into a white sedan. (Sanger PD)
15 hours ago

Sanger Police Seek Public’s Help to Find Missing Teen

A view of the cityscape in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 16, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
15 hours ago

Trump Says Everyone Should Immediately Evacuate Tehran

16 hours ago

Inside Trump’s Extraordinary Turnaround on Immigration Raids

President Donald Trump speaks at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
16 hours ago

Trump Approval Steady at 42%, Support Weakens for His Immigration Policy, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

A person was rescued from a Fresno canal Monday, June 16, 2025, near Dakota and Ninth Street, marking the third such incident in recent days, officials said. (Fresno FD)
16 hours ago

Person Rescued from Fresno Canal, Third Incident in Recent Days

16 hours ago

Arias Dodges Questions About His False Fresno ICE Raid Claim

18 hours ago

Iranian State TV Halts Live Broadcast After Israeli Strike

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

Search

Send this to a friend