A federal appeals court upheld California’s ban on high-capacity magazines, a ruling with national ramifications that might lead to the state’s semiautomatic weapons ban being reinstated as well.
A 7-4 vote won the decision. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals maintained a state limit on magazines that carry more than 10 rounds of ammunition, overturning a federal judge’s ruling that the law infringed on gun owners’ Second Amendment rights.
Judge Susan P. Graber of the California Court of Appeal dismissed gun rights groups’ claims that the state legislation, which was initially established in 2000 and reinforced in 2016, infringed California gun owners’ fundamental right to self-defense.
Graber argued that no evidence has ever been presented showing how someone couldn’t defend their home or family because of a lack of a large-capacity magazine.
Last year, a three-judge federal court affirmed the decision of U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez. The District Court overturned the statute in San Diego, which sent the matter to the entire appeals court.
Jonathan Lowy, chief counsel for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, which filed several briefs in support of the magazine ban, said the law is not meant to infringe on the Second Amendment rights of Americans. He argued that it is instead a limited attempt to restrict access to military-style firearms and large capacity clips that have been used in mass shootings across the country.
Both sides of the issue — gun control campaigners and gun rights activists — expect the appeals court will reject another of Judge Benitez’s orders, this year’s decision to invalidate the state’s semiautomatic weapons prohibition.
The California Rifle & Pistol Association, which brought the high-capacity magazine case, said it would file an appeal.
Lowy and others feel there is a good probability at least one of the cases will end up in the Supreme Court, which is already poised to reject a New York law that places tight restrictions on guns brought out in public.