U.S. judge blocks California law that required background checks to buy
ammunition
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[April 24, 2020]
By Kanishka Singh
(Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge has
blocked a California law that required background checks for people
buying ammunition, saying it violated the constitutional right to bear
arms.
U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez in San Diego issued a preliminary
injunction on Thursday halting the law, ruling in favor of lobby group
California Rifle & Pistol Association, which asked him to stop the
checks.
"California's new ammunition background check law misfires and the
Second Amendment rights of California citizens have been gravely
injured," Benitez wrote in the order granting the group's motion for a
preliminary injunction.
The order also described the law as "onerous and convoluted" and
"constitutionally defective".
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California Governor Gavin Newsom had supported such legislation from
before he took office. His administration was disappointed by the ruling
and was considering the next steps, a spokeswoman said.
It was not immediately clear whether the state attorney general's office
would appeal or seek to stay the order.
The lawsuit was originally filed by the California Rifle & Pistol
Association and later joined by, among others, U.S. Olympic Gold Medal
shooter Kim Rhode.
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![](../images/042420pics/news_d9.jpg)
A pedestrian pushes a stroller as people wait in line outside to buy
supplies at the Martin B. Retting, Inc. gun store amid fears of the
global growth of coronavirus cases, in Culver City, California, U.S.
March 15, 2020. REUTERS/Patrick T. Fallon//File Photo
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Gun control advocates in the United States, where gun stores were
allowed to remain open, have previously said they feared that an
increased ownership of firearms during the coronavirus pandemic
could lead to more domestic violence. California has ordered some
gun stores to shut during the outbreak.
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court rebuffed an attempt by gun rights
advocates to overturn President Donald Trump's ban on "bump stocks"
- devices that enable semi-automatic weapons to fire rapidly like a
machine gun - implemented after a mass shooting in Las Vegas in
2017.
Numerous gun control proposals have been thwarted in the U.S.
Congress, largely because of opposition by Republican lawmakers and
the influential National Rifle Association gun rights lobby.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru, Editing by Timothy
Heritage)
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