Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
California Ban on High-Capacity Magazines Gets New Court Review
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
February 26, 2021

Share

A federal appeals court said Thursday that it will reconsider a three-judge court’s split ruling last year throwing out California’s ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines, a decision with potential impact in other states.

An 11-member panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will rehear the case after two members of the three-judge appellate panel ruled in August that California’s ban on magazines holding more than 10 bullets violates the U.S. Constitution’s protection of the right to bear firearms.

The third member had said the ruling conflicts with decisions in six other federal appellate courts across the nation, and with a 2015 ruling by a different panel of the 9th Circuit itself.

Advocates on Both Sides Eager for Rematch

Advocates on both sides said they are eager for a rematch — a reflection of the changing nature of the federal courts.

The once notoriously liberal 9th Circuit has shifted to the right with recent appointments by former President Donald Trump, and gun owner rights groups are anxious to get such laws before the more conservative U.S. Supreme Court. However, a majority of the nation’s high court in June declined to consider several challenges to federal and state gun control laws, including Massachusetts’ ban on large-capacity ammunition magazines.

“We’re excited to have another opportunity to defend what Californians already know – law-abiding citizens’ ability to purchase, possess, and use standard-capacity magazines in California is a fundamental civil right and shall not be infringed,” said Chuck Michel, the California Rifle & Pistol Association’s president and general counsel.

State Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who is awaiting confirmation to join new President Joseph Biden’s Cabinet, called the rehearing decision “critical” and “the next step in the defense (of) our state’s commonsense gun laws.”

“Large-capacity magazines have been used in many horrific mass shootings around the country, including right here in California,” Becerra said in a statement.

National Gun Control Group Hopeful

The gun control group Brady, which advocates in Congress and the states, said it is “hopeful” the larger appeals panel will uphold the state’s ban.

“The Constitution, properly understood, should not entitle people to weapons of war, or prevent states from prohibiting military-style firearms or the large capacity magazines they use,” said Jonathan Lowy, the group’s chief counsel.

The two-paragraph announcement from the appeals court vacated the three-judge decision. But a lower court’s ruling in 2017 still prohibits the state from enforcing a law that would have barred gun owners from possessing magazines holding more than 10 bullets, Michel said.

San Diego-based U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez and the three-judge appellate panel went further by declaring unconstitutional a state law that had prohibited buying or selling such magazines since 2000. That law had let those who had the magazines before then keep them, but barred new sales or imports.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Aryan Brotherhood Members Convicted of Murder, Racketeering in Federal Trial

DON'T MISS

KMJ’s Iconic ‘Voice of Fresno,’ Al Smith, Dies at Age 86

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Executive Orders as Joint Interview with Musk Airs

DON'T MISS

Death of South Korean Actor at 24 Sparks Discussion About Social Media

DON'T MISS

Timeline of a Cultlike Group Tied to the Killing of a Border Patrol Agent

DON'T MISS

‘Life-threatening Cold’ Hits Parts of US Following Deadly Weekend Flooding

DON'T MISS

Blink-182 Bassist’s $6M Banksy Painting Heads to Auction for Charity

DON'T MISS

Trump Admin Gives Schools Deadline to End DEI Programs or Lose Federal Funding

DON'T MISS

US and Russia Hold Historic Talks to End Ukraine War

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Tiffany Evelyn Tate

UP NEXT

Former Vice President Kamala Harris to Be Honored by NAACP With Its Chairman’s Award

UP NEXT

Poll: Where US Adults Think the Government Is Spending Too Much

UP NEXT

USAID in Turmoil as Aid Programs Cut, Staff Stranded

UP NEXT

Pentagon’s New Media Rotation Program Boots NPR, NY Times, NBC News

UP NEXT

Apple Changes Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America on Maps

UP NEXT

Red, White, and Blueland? GOP Congressman Proposes Bill to Rename Greenland

UP NEXT

White House Bars AP Reporter From Oval Office Because of AP Style Policy on ‘Gulf of America’

UP NEXT

Russia Has Released Detained American Teacher Marc Fogel, the White House Says

UP NEXT

Canned Tuna Sold at Trader Joe’s, Costco, H-E-B Recalled for Botulism Risk

UP NEXT

Fact Check: No Evidence Chelsea Clinton Took $84 Million From USAID

Death of South Korean Actor at 24 Sparks Discussion About Social Media

1 hour ago

Timeline of a Cultlike Group Tied to the Killing of a Border Patrol Agent

1 hour ago

‘Life-threatening Cold’ Hits Parts of US Following Deadly Weekend Flooding

2 hours ago

Blink-182 Bassist’s $6M Banksy Painting Heads to Auction for Charity

2 hours ago

Trump Admin Gives Schools Deadline to End DEI Programs or Lose Federal Funding

2 hours ago

US and Russia Hold Historic Talks to End Ukraine War

2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Tiffany Evelyn Tate

2 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Nears Record as Stocks Drift Amid Inflation Concerns

3 hours ago

Hamas Says It Will Free 6 Living Hostages and Hand Over Four Bodies

3 hours ago

Delta Plane Flips on Toronto Runway Amid Winter Storm

21 hours ago

Aryan Brotherhood Members Convicted of Murder, Racketeering in Federal Trial

Three members of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang were convicted of racketeering and murder following a four-week federal trial in Fresno, ...

2 minutes ago

2 minutes ago

Aryan Brotherhood Members Convicted of Murder, Racketeering in Federal Trial

14 minutes ago

KMJ’s Iconic ‘Voice of Fresno,’ Al Smith, Dies at Age 86

54 minutes ago

Trump to Sign Executive Orders as Joint Interview with Musk Airs

1 hour ago

Death of South Korean Actor at 24 Sparks Discussion About Social Media

1 hour ago

Timeline of a Cultlike Group Tied to the Killing of a Border Patrol Agent

2 hours ago

‘Life-threatening Cold’ Hits Parts of US Following Deadly Weekend Flooding

2 hours ago

Blink-182 Bassist’s $6M Banksy Painting Heads to Auction for Charity

2 hours ago

Trump Admin Gives Schools Deadline to End DEI Programs or Lose Federal Funding

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

Search

Send this to a friend