Overturning the ban would allow things like assault shotguns and assault pistols, it said.īenitez said: “This case is not about extraordinary weapons lying at the outer limits of second amendment protection. The state argued that a surge in sales of pistols, rifles and shotguns in the last year showed the assault weapons ban “has not prevented law-abiding citizens in the state from acquiring a range of firearms for lawful purposes, including self-defense”.Īssault weapon restrictions have been upheld by six federal district and appeals courts, the state argued. Nonetheless, Benitez said: “Like the Swiss army knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment. Like the Swiss army knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is … good for both home and battle Judge Roger Benitez Such firearms have been used in mass shootings in the state, including in San Bernardino in 2015 when 14 were killed. Under it, the purchase, sale or transfer of many named brands and models of semi-automatic rifles and handguns are banned.
The California attorney general, Rob Bonta, called Benitez’s ruling flawed and said it would be appealed.Īssault weapons are disproportionately used in crime and have been used in most modern US mass shootings, including the slaughter of 20 young children and six adults at a school in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012, 49 clubbers in Orlando, Florida, in June 2016 and 58 concertgoers in Las Vegas in October 2017.Ĭalifornia’s Roberto-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act has been in place since 1989.
“Under no level of heightened scrutiny can the law survive,” Benitez wrote, issuing a permanent injunction stayed for 30 days. Newsom issued his stinging statement late on Friday after Roger Benitez, a district judge in San Diego appointed by George W Bush, ruled that the state was unlawfully depriving law-abiding Californians of weapons allowed under US supreme court rulings, denying their right to bear arms. But I am fearful because I know that there is someone out there right now who will go out and buy an AR-15 because of this judge.” I am upset for the loss of my daughter and for all the other victims. One prominent gun control group said the ruling was “especially insulting” because it was handed down on National Gun Violence Awareness Day.įred Guttenberg, the father of one of 17 pupils killed at a Florida high school in 2018, told CNN: “People are going to die because of this ruling. In a strongly worded attack, the Democrat added: “Comparing an AR-15 to a Swiss army knife is a disgusting slap in the face to those who have lost loved ones to gun violence.”
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