California court seeks to end confusion over owning gun magazines

Robert Besser
01 Mar 2021, 10:05 GMT+10

A U.S. Court of Appeals said it would reconsider an earlier decision that California can legally ban gun magazines.
At issue is whether California's ban violates the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment, which guarantees the right to bear arms.
San Francisco's 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals set aside an earlier decision, which ruled in favor of opponents of the ban on gun magazines.

SAN FRANCISCO, California: A U.S. Court of Appeals said on Thursday that it would reconsider an earlier decision that California can legally ban gun magazines.

At issue is whether California's ban violates the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment, which guarantees the right to bear arms.

San Francisco's 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals set aside an earlier decision by a divided three-judge panel, which ruled in favor of opponents of the ban on gun magazines holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

An 11-judge panel will now hear the case.

Of note, Circuit Judge Kenneth Lee had written for the majority that a 2017 ban may have been "well-intentioned" following a spate of "heart-wrenching and highly publicized mass shootings," but that it violated the constitutional guarantee to armed self-defense.

Gun owners opposed the ban, said lawyers, noting that the state's "draconian" ban would make the ownership of magazines illegal for all gun owners.

Chuck Michel, president of the California Rifle and Pistol Association, which joined in opposing the ban, said his organization would defend the "fundamental" right of the public to own gun magazines in California.

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