Court blocks California semiautomatic gun sales ban for under-21

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• A federal appeals court blocked a California law banning sales of semiautomatic guns to adults under 21 years of age.
• The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the gun sales ban is unconstitutional.
• The sales ban went into effect in 2019.

A federal appeals court ruled that California’s ban on semiautomatic weapons sales to adults under 21 is unconstitutional. Gun-rights advocates hope Wednesday’s ruling will pave the way for similar decisions in other courts. 

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the law was in violation of the Second Amendment and that a San Diego judge should have blocked what is called the “an almost total ban on semiautomatic centerfire rifles” for young adults.

“America would not exist without the heroism of the young adults who fought and died in our revolutionary army,” Judge Ryan Nelson wrote in the 2-1 ruling. “Today we reaffirm that our Constitution still protects the right that enabled their sacrifice: the right of young adults to keep and bear arms.”

A dissent was written by U.S. District Court Judge Sidney Stein from the Southern District of New York.

The Firearms Policy Coalition, an organization leading the fight against anti-gun laws, brought the case. It is positive that age-based gun bans will also be overturned in other courts.

“Today’s decision confirms that peaceable legal adults cannot be prohibited from acquiring firearms and exercising their rights enshrined in the Second Amendment,” FPC Vice President of Programs Adam Kraut said in a statement to Fox News.

“We are pleased to see progress on this important legal front and optimistic that similar results will come from our many other challenges to age-based bans filed in courts across the United States,” Kraut added.

The decision, however, was not a complete victory for gun rights advocates.

They had sought to block California from requiring a hunting license for purchases of rifles or shotguns by adults under 21 who are not members of the military or law enforcement.

The court on Wednesday ruled the hunting license requirement was ‘reasonable’ for ensuring public safety through “sensible firearm control.”

A spokesperson for California Attorney General Rob Bonta told Fox News that his office is reviewing the court’s decision. 

“California will continue to take all necessary steps to prevent and reduce gun violence,” the statement said. “We remain committed to defending California’s commonsense gun laws, which save lives and make our communities safer.”

The sales ban went into effect in 2019.

Matthew Jones from Santee in San Diego County was the lead plaintiff in the case. He was 20 years old at the time the case was brought to court. Jones said he needed a gun for self-defense and other lawful purposes but didn’t care for a hunting license.

Source: Fox News