Please, Sir. May I Have Some More Guns? Gun Restrictions in California
Recently, California placed a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines. Magazines are considered “high capacity” if they hold more than 10 bullets. However, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, repealed this ban because it goes against the 2nd Amendment, which gives Americans the right to own guns. Appellate Judge Kenneth Lee wrote the majority opinion. He said that although mass shootings are terrible, they are not enough to justify a ban that "is so sweeping that half of all magazines in America are now unlawful to own in California." Even though this ban has been overturned, people cannot immediately go out and buy these high-capacity magazines because a stay issued by the lower court judge is still in place. California Governor Gavin Newsom supported the ban when he was lieutenant governor, and he gave the following statement regarding the ban in light of the recent decision: “I think it was sound, I think it was right, and ... the overwhelming majority of Californians agreed when they supported a ballot initiative that we put forth.”
The state of California plans to appeal this decision. The office of Xavier Becerra, California’s Attorney General, said that they are looking over the decision and that he "remains committed to using every tool possible to defend California’s gun safety laws and keep our communities safe.” With President Donald Trump appointing more conservative justices to the Supreme Court, gun rights groups are going to try to send similar cases to the Supreme Court in order to overturn gun restrictions like this one.
One Gun a Month
In another move on the gun control front, last year Governor Newsom signed a bill into law that would only allow California citizens to buy one gun per month. This measure applies to handguns and long guns. It also stops people under the age of 21 from buying guns like semi-automatic centerfire rifles. State Senator Anthony Portantino, D-La Cañada Flintridge, says this law is important because “Limiting bulk purchases of guns, in this case the type of high capacity weapons that are the gun of choice for many mass shootings, will keep these guns from falling under the radar and getting into the wrong hands.”
Most gun purchases will not be affected by this law. According to The Sacramento Bee, “From January 2014 through June 2015, nearly 82 percent of long guns were sold as a single long gun purchase.” Instead, this law intends to stop large sales of guns. For example, according to California’s Department of Justice, in April 2014 there was a person who bought 177 long guns in a 30-day period. The California Rifle and Pistol Association wrote on their Facebook page that “You can expect us to fight this in court.” Proponents of gun rights often say that privately owned guns are used for hunting. Portantino says that “These types of weapons are not used for hunting, and sadly, are having a horrible impact for too many innocent people” and that “We need to get them off the streets and out of the hands of the wrong people.” This law takes effect on July 21, 2021. There will be exceptions for places like movie studios, police stations, local jails and private security companies. These places can buy multiple guns per month.
It appears that the California legislature will continue to play a leading role in passing gun control legislation, while gun rights activists and organizations will take an ever-more eager and aggressive push to challenge these laws in the courts. How these laws will play out will likely affect gun laws throughout America.
