Gun owners will no longer be banned from having magazines that are detachable can hold more than the legally allowed amount, 10 rounds. This was ruled last Friday.
U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez was who made the decision, but it won't be passing without a fight. California Attorney General Rob Bonta will be appealing the ruling, and the ban is still in effect while the case is ongoing.
This isn't the first time Benitez has tried to overturn the state's ban on high-capacity magazines. The last time this occurred was back in 2017, and that ruling was appealed and eventually reversed.
However in 2022, there has been a shift in the interpretation of gun laws in the country, made by the U.S. Supreme Court. According to KQED, “The new standard relies more on the historical tradition of gun regulation rather than public interests, including safety.”
This has been a case that has even be heard by the Supreme Court , determining how the new standards would fit into this reversal or maintenance of the ban. It's one of three high-profile challenges to California gun laws that are getting new hearings in court. Banning assault-style weapons and limiting purchases of ammunition were the other two cases at subject in California.
Benitez ruled “there is no American tradition of limiting ammunition capacity.” He said detachable magazines “solved a problem with historic firearms: running out of ammunition and having to slowly reload a gun.”
“There have been, and there will be, times where many more than 10 rounds are needed to stop attackers,” Benitez wrote. “Yet, under this statute, the State says ‘too bad.'”
Attorney General Bonta said large-capacity magazines are also important to mass shooters, allowing them to fire quickly into crowds of people without reloading, according to KQED. He said this new standard has been clarified by the Court with gun law review as it “did not create a regulatory straitjacket for states.”
“We believe that the district court got this wrong,” Bonta said. “We will move quickly to correct this incredibly dangerous mistake.”
Chuck Michel, president of the California Rifle and Pistol Association, was in awe of Benitez of his approach.
“Sure, the state will appeal, but the clock is ticking on laws that violate the Constitution,” Michel said.
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