The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that California’s burdensome ammunition background check law is unconstitutional — handing gun owners a significant victory in the fight against California’s aggressive anti-gun agenda.
The 2-1 decision, issued on July 24th, struck down the 2016 voter-approved law requiring ammunition buyers to undergo background checks for every purchase and banning direct shipments of ammo to residents. The court found that the law infringes on the Constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens and does little to prevent crime.
The ruling, authored by Judge Kenneth Lee, emphasized that the law “has no historical parallel” and unjustly burdens citizens attempting to exercise their Second Amendment rights. The opinion highlighted how the law caused thousands of legitimate transactions to be rejected, blocking people from buying ammunition for no valid reason.
Judge Kenneth Lee went on to say:
“This law treated every gun owner like a criminal. The Second Amendment isn’t a second-class right. California’s system turned routine purchases into government-controlled checkpoints.”
California’s background check scheme, part of then-Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Prop 63, has long been criticized for creating a tangled web of red tape that made it nearly impossible for some to legally buy ammunition.
Under the law, even long-time gun owners were denied ammo purchases due to clerical errors, outdated databases, or minor inconsistencies in paperwork.
Shortly after the decision, Gov. Newsom released a statement, saying:
“Today’s decision is a slap in the face to the progress California has made in recent years to keep its communities safer from gun violence.”
The court’s ruling proves what the National Association for Gun Rights has been saying for years: these kinds of laws don’t stop criminals — they only punish law-abiding gun owners.
The state of California is expected to appeal the decision. However, for now, the law has been blocked from enforcement, restoring some freedom to millions of California gun owners.
This is just the latest in a series of pro-Second Amendment decisions in the post-Bruen era, where courts are demanding that modern-day gun restrictions be backed by the historical tradition of firearm regulation.
Read more at Reuters.
