A federal judge in California has ruled that the liberal state’s attempts to ban sales of semiautomatic guns violates the constitutional right to bear arms.
While U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez of San Diego admitted that weapons such as the AR-15 are commonly used by criminals, he also believes that guns should be owned by law-abiding citizens who feel they need firearms to protect themselves.
“The State of California posits that its ‘assault weapon’ ban, the law challenged here, promotes an important public interest of disarming some mass shooters even though it makes criminals of law-abiding residents who insist on acquiring these firearms for self-defense,” Benitez wrote in his ruling. “Nevertheless, more than that is required to uphold a ban.”
Benitez has repeatedly struck down multiple firearm laws in the state. In 2021, he overturned California’s three-decade-old ban on assault weapons, calling it at the time a “failed experiment.”
John Dillon, an attorney representing the plaintiffs who sued to overturn the law, welcomed the judge’s ruling.
“The Court’s decision is constitutionally sound and addresses the many inadequacies of the State’s arguments and so-called justifications for this unconstitutional ban,” Dillon said in a statement. “We will continue to fight for our Plaintiffs’ Second Amendment rights through any appeal until the State is forced to start respecting these rights.”
Anti-gun advocates, meanwhile, expressed disappointment over Benitez’s decision, with State Attorney General Rob Bonta saying that he had already filed a notice of appeal.
“Weapons of war have no place on California’s streets,” Bonta said in a statement. “This has been state law in California for decades, and we will continue to fight for our authority to keep our citizens safe from firearms that cause mass casualties. In the meantime, assault weapons remain unlawful for purchase, transfer, or possession in California.”
This comes as discussions on gun control legislation have been a hot-button issue recently following a series of mass shootings in the U.S. Since then, President Joe Biden has reiterated his rhetoric against the Second Amendment.
During a speech earlier this year, the president stated unequivocally, “We’re going to ban assault weapons,” adding, “We banned it once, we’re going to do it again, and the number of bullets that can be in a clip.”
