patrick.net

BOCA RATON, Fla., Jan. 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ --

Marking a major victory for California gun owners and advocates of Second Amendment rights, a federal court in the District of Southern California today ruled to strike down the state's 2019 ammunition law requiring in-person background checks for every individual purchase of standard ammunition.

The decision comes after a knockout lawsuit—uniting the national online discount ammo retailer Ammunition Depot, the California Rifle & Pistol Association (CRPA), and Olympic shooter Kim Rhode, among others—and challenging the new process' excessive restrictions on law-abiding residents.

The court firmly sided with challengers in concluding that the state's policies fundamentally violated the constitutional rights of California's nearly 40 million citizens.

As highlighted by U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez in 2020, the law not only made California the only state in U.S. history to place such heavy restrictions on simple ammo purchases, but convoluted policies created widespread hassle and confusion for residents, visitors, vendors, and industry workers alike.

The state's background check system was also shown to be woefully ineffective—mistakenly blocking 16.4% of lawful ammo purchases due to various administrative errors and database issues—while only catching .03% of purchases that were accurately prohibited.

The new system was so impractical that millions of residents did not bother going through the process at all, with estimated forecasts showing a reduction of 95% in total ammo transactions for any given year.

"Like millions of gun owners, we share a deep appreciation for the freedoms guaranteed to us by our nation's constitution, and we were alarmed by the overt violations this system sought to infringe on second amendment rights for our country's most populous state," said Ammunition Depot CEO Dan Wolgin.

"We applaud the court's decision, and Ammunition Depot is proud to have joined Kim Rhode, the CRPA, and all others in this fight to protect the liberties we all hold dear as Americans."

Lead attorney for the Rhode case, Sean Brady of Michel & Associates, noted, "this particular background check system, instituted by California law, was so egregious and over the top that Judge Benitez never faltered in his determinations from his earlier rulings which gave gun owners a win.

Today's ruling reiterates that California's restrictions on ammunition purchasing are unconstitutional under yet another Supreme Court opinion with Bruen."

Ammunition Depot recognizes today's ruling as a victory for second amendment rights but urges all gun owners not to become complacent. Freedoms aren't usually taken away overnight; instead, they're slowly eroded over time.