Federal judge blocks California law that would have banned carrying firearms in most public places

2024-12-24 10:40:14 source: category:Invest

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked a California law that would have banned carrying firearms in most public places, ruling that it violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and deprives people of their ability to defend themselves and their loved ones.

The law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September was set to take effect Jan. 1. It would have prohibited people from carrying concealed guns in 26 places including public parks and playgrounds, churches, banks and zoos. The ban would apply whether the person has a permit to carry a concealed weapon or not. One exception would be for privately owned businesses that put up signs saying people are allowed to bring guns on their premises.

Related News Governor wants New Mexico legislators to debate new approach to regulating assault-style weapons New York can enforce laws banning guns from ‘sensitive locations’ for now, U.S. appeals court rules California’s top prosecutor won’t seek charges in 2020 fatal police shooting of Bay Area man

U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney granted a preliminary injunction blocking the law, which he wrote was “sweeping, repugnant to the Second Amendment, and openly defiant of the Supreme Court.”

The decision is a victory for the California Rifle and Pistol Association, which sued to block the law. The measure overhauled the state’s rules for concealed carry permits in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen. That decision said the constitutionality of gun laws must be assessed by whether they are “consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”

“California progressive politicians refuse to accept the Supreme Court’s mandate from the Bruen case and are trying every creative ploy they can imagine to get around it,” the California association’s president, Chuck Michel, said in a statement. “The Court saw through the State’s gambit.”

Michel said under the law, gun permit holders “wouldn’t be able to drive across town without passing through a prohibited area and breaking the law.” He said the judge’s decision makes Californians safer because criminals are deterred when law-abiding citizens can defend themselves.

The law was supported by Newsom, who has positioned himself as a national leader on gun control while he is being increasingly eyed as a potential presidential candidate. He has called for and signed a variety of bills, including measures targeting untraceable “ghost guns,” the marketing of firearms to children and allowing people to bring lawsuits over gun violence. That legislation was patterned on a Texas anti-abortion law.

Carney is a former Orange County Superior Court judge who was appointed to the federal bench by President George W. Bush in 2003.

More:Invest

Recommend

Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly are expecting their first child together

Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly are having a baby!The actress, 38, in an Instagram post on Monday re

Forced sale of TikTok absolutely could happen before Election Day, Rep. Mike Gallagher says

Washington — Rep. Mike Gallagher, a Wisconsin Republican, said on Sunday that the forced sale of Tik

Full transcript of Face the Nation, March 17, 2024

On this "Face the Nation" broadcast, moderated by Margaret Brennan: Former Vice President Mike Pence