Federal Judge Strikes Down California Law Requiring Background Check for Ammunition
A federal judge has ruled against California’s law requiring residents to undergo background checks every time they purchase firearm ammunition. The current California law mandates consumers to pay between $1 to $19 for background checks each time they wish to purchase ammunition.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez declared that the law infringes upon the Second Amendment, arguing that individuals cannot use guns for self-defense if they do not have the ability to buy ammunition.
“A sweeping background check requirement imposed every time a citizen needs to buy ammunition is an outlier that our ancestors would have never accepted for a citizen,” Benitez wrote in his decision.
The judge also criticized California’s automatic background check system, which rejected over 58,000 applicants at the beginning of 2023, resulting in an 11% rejection rate. Benitez questioned the legitimacy of such rejections, emphasizing that individuals are being denied the ability to exercise their Second Amendment right.
“How many of the 58,087 needed ammunition to defend themselves against an impending criminal threat and how many were simply preparing for a sporting event, we will never know,” Benitez wrote. “What is known is that in almost all cases, the 322 individuals that are rejected each day are being denied permission to freely exercise their Second Amendment right — a right which our Founders instructed shall not be infringed.”
This ruling is part of a series of decisions Judge Benitez has made recently against California’s gun control laws. He previously ruled against the state’s magazine capacity law, which sought to restrict the ownership and sale of magazines with over 10 rounds. Additionally, Benitez ruled against California’s “assault weapons” ban. In each of his rulings, Benitez cited the Supreme Court’s recent precedent set forth in New York Rifle Association v. Bruen which requires state gun laws to align with the “historic tradition” of firearm regulation in the United States.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta criticized the recent decision, arguing that the laws in question were implemented to safeguard and protect the people of California and are working. California Governor Gavin Newsom also responded to Benitez’s ruling, accusing the judge of putting his “personal politics and fealty for the gun lobby over the Constitution and common sense.”
