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Title: High-capacity gun magazines to remain legal in California, judge rules
Source:
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URL Source: https://www.foxnews.com/us/judge-bl ... s-high-capacity-ammunition-ban
Published: Apr 3, 2019
Author: ap
Post Date: 2019-04-03 19:35:05 by Justified
Keywords: None
Views: 569
Comments: 2
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – High-capacity gun magazines will remain legal in California under a ruling Friday by a federal judge who cited a home invasion where a woman used the extra bullets in her weapon to kill an attacker and two other cases women without additional ammunition ran out of bullets. "Individual liberty and freedom are not outmoded concepts," San Diego-based U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez wrote. He called the law that would have banned possessing any magazines holding more than 10 bullets unconstitutional. California law has prohibited buying or selling such magazines since 2000, but those who had them before were allowed to keep them. In 2016, the Legislature and voters approved a law removing that provision. The California arm of the National Rifle Association sued and Benitez sided with the group's argument that banning the magazines infringes on the Second Amendment right to bear arms. Benitez had temporarily blocked the law from taking effect with a 2017 ruling. Chuck Michel, an attorney for the NRA and the California Rifle & Pistol Association, said the judge's latest ruling may go much farther by striking down the entire ban, allowing individuals to legally acquire high-capacity magazines for the first time in nearly two decades. "We're still digesting the opinion but it appears to us that he struck down both the latest ban on possessing by those who are grandfathered in, but also said that everyone has a right to acquire one," Michel said. Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement that his office is "committed to defending California's common sense gun laws" and is reviewing the decision and evaluating its next steps. The goal of the California law is to deter mass-shootings, with Becerra previously listing as an example the terrorist assault that killed 14 and injured 22 in San Bernardino. Benitez, an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush, called such shootings "exceedingly rare" while emphasizing the everyday robberies, rapes and murders he said might be countered with firearms. The Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, named after a former congresswoman who survived a mass shooting, is also still evaluating whether the decision applies more broadly, said staff attorney Ari Freilich. But Freilich predicted the "extreme outlier decision" will be overturned on appeal and criticized a judge "so deeply out of touch that he believes mass shootings are a 'very small' problem in this country." Becerra previously said similar Second Amendment challenges have been repeatedly rejected by other courts, with at least seven other states and 11 local governments already restricting the possession or sale of large-capacity magazines. The conflicting decisions may ultimately be sorted out by the U.S. Supreme Court. Benitez ruled that magazines holding more than 10 rounds are "arms" under the U.S. Constitution, and that the California law "burdens the core of the Second Amendment by criminalizing the acquisition and possession of these magazines that are commonly held by law-abiding citizens for defense of self, home, and state." Benitez described three home invasions, two of which ended with the female victims running out of bullets. In the third case, the pajama-clad woman with a high-capacity magazine took on three armed intruders, firing at them while simultaneously calling for help on her phone. "She had no place to carry an extra magazine and no way to reload because her left hand held the phone with which she was still trying to call 911," the judge wrote, saying she killed one attacker while two escaped. The magazine ban was included in 2016 legislation that voters strengthened with their approval of Proposition 63, which was championed by then-Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. In a statement, Newsom criticized the judge's ruling. "This District Court Judge's failure to uphold a ban on high-capacity magazines is indefensible, dangerous for our communities and contradicts well-established case law," the governor said. "I strongly disagree with the court's assessment that 'the problem of mass shootings is very small.' Our commitment to public safety and defending common sense gun safety laws remains steadfast."
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#1. To: Justified (#0)
(Edited)
Ishapore 2A1 Enfield with standard "hi-cap" mag, 12 rounds of 7.62 NATO Wooohooo! Still legal in the land of the free, and the home of the brave. With one in the chamber, it's good for MS-13
Let freedom reign! U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- Since Friday's landmark court decision that legalized magazines holding more than ten rounds in California buyers have been going crazy with purchases. Most online retailers have resumed the sales of magazines of all sizes to the people of the Golden State. Rainier Arms has seen a significant uptick in traffic with most sales being for the Magpul Gen2 30 round magazine. This increase in internet transactions has even crashed Rainier Arms payment processing server. “We received such an overwhelming surge of sales over the weekend, it actually crashed our merchant services, the website was fine, but our payment services were so overwhelmed it crashed,” said Aristotle Bartolome of Rainier Arms. “With that said, we closed out a very strong weekend, and even with the chaos, we’re currently 48 hours behind on getting all of the weekend orders caught up and adjusting staffing to better support our customers getting their orders quicker.” Rainier Arms isn't alone in their increase in sales. Brownells is also reporting an increase in magazines sales to California. They are seeing residents “stocking up” on AR15 magazines as well. Brownells is one of the largest gun retailers on the web. California residents are in a rush to buy up magazines before the state can appeal U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez's decision to the Ninth Circuit Court. The judge's decision stunned the California Attorney General and the gun community as well. It went further than either side anticipated. One California resident, Adelaide Golden, told me that she thinks that all gun owners in the state need to take advantage of the opportunity to purchase standard compacity magazines while they are shipping to the state. “In a national and local environment that is increasingly hostile to responsible gun owners, it’s important to take advantage of opportunities that present,” Golden said. “With the overturn of unconstitutional limits on magazine sizes, I, as a California resident, can finally have standard size magazines that can make a small difference at the range and a huge difference if I’m ever forced to defend myself or my home.” Some gun owners were worried that the price of magazines would increase with the potential run on the product. Primarily this increase in price hasn't happened. In fact, a lot of websites are running deals for California residents. Companies are there to make a profit, but it seems like a lot of companies are taking this opportunity to spread the message of liberty. Brownells is trying to flood California with AR15 magazines. The firearms retailer is currently selling 10 packs of 30 round Magpul GEN2 magazines for $99.99 which saves the residents $30. Elite Tactical Components are also helping out the people of the state but are focusing on the AK market. That site is selling blem 30 round XTech MAG47 magazines for only $10. The deal is just for residents of California.
#2. To: All, *Bang List* (#1)
Companies Crushed With Heavy Demand For Gun Magazines From California
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