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(Reuters) – A divided federal appeals court on Thursday said California’s first-of-its-kind law requiring firearm owners to undergo background checks to buy ammunition is unconstitutional, violating the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
In a 2-1 vote, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena, California upheld a lower court judge’s permanent injunction against enforcing the law.
Circuit Judge Sandra Ikuta said the law “meaningfully constrains” people’s right to keep and bear arms.
She also said California failed to show the law was consistent with the country’s historical tradition of firearm regulation as required under a 2022 landmark US Supreme Court decision, New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen.
“By subjecting Californians to background checks for all ammunition purchases, California’s ammunition background check regime infringes on the fundamental right to keep and bear arms,” Ikuta wrote.
The office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat who defended the law, was disappointed by the decision.
“Our families, schools, and neighborhoods deserve nothing less than the most basic protection against preventable gun violence, and we are looking into our legal options,” a spokesperson said.
The office of California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who has called the January 2024 injunction “extremist, illogical, and incoherent,” had no immediate comment.
All three judges on Thursday’s panel were appointed by Republican presidents, though appointees of Democratic presidents hold a 9th Circuit majority.
California can ask an 11-judge appeals court panel or the Supreme Court to review the decision.
