VICTORY: Judge overturns ‘constitutionally untenable’ ban on assault weapons in strongly pro-2A ruling

“Like the Bowie Knife which was commonly carried by citizens and soldiers in the 1800s, ‘assault weapons’ are dangerous, but useful,” reads a recent federal court ruling from California. “But unlike the Bowie Knife, the United States Supreme Court has said, ‘[t]here is a long tradition of widespread lawful gun ownership by private individuals in this country.’”

This year, the Golden State has cracked down hard on the Second Amendment, with Governor Gavin Newsom promoting multiple gun control initiatives. However, in a rare victory for gun owners on the West Coast, a federal judge in San Diego ruled on Thursday that the state’s ban on semi-automatic firearms is unconstitutional.

In a surprisingly pro-Second Amendment ruling, U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez warned that “California’s ‘assault weapon’ ban takes away from its residents the choice of using an AR-15 type rifle for self-defense.”

“Is it because modern rifles are used so frequently for crime,” he asked. “No. The United States Department of Justice reports that in the year 2021, in the entire country 447 people were killed with rifles (of all types). From this one can say that, based on a national population of 320 million people in the United States, rifles of any kind (including AR-15s) were used in homicides only 0.0000014% of the time. Put differently, if 447 rifles were used to commit 447 homicides and every rifle-related homicide involved an AR-15, it would mean that of the approximately 24,400,000 AR-15s in the national stock, less than .00001832% were used in homicides. It begs the question: what were the other AR-15 type rifles used for? The only logical answer is that 24,399,553 (or 99.999985%) of AR-15s were used for lawful purposes.”

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The state ban, which was first enacted in 1989, came under increased scrutiny after last year’s NYSRPA v. Bruen ruling, a landmark Supreme Court case that expanded gun rights. According to the case, gun laws must now be "consistent with this nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation," and California’s long-standing prohibition failed to pass the test.

“California’s answer to the criminal misuse of a few is to disarm its many good residents,” Judge Benitez wrote. “That knee-jerk reaction is constitutionally untenable, just as it was 250 years ago. The Second Amendment stands as a shield from government imposition of that policy.”

Although California Attorney General Rob Bonta has announced his intentions to appeal the ruling, this victory for law-abiding gun owners is confirmation of what we already know: any attempt to restrict the American people’s right to keep and bear arms is unconstitutional. Period. End of story.

To join us in safeguarding this fundamental freedom and keeping our families and communities safe, join the Convention of States movement today. Together, we seek to call the first-ever Article V convention, through which we can rein in our out-of-control federal government and ensure our liberties are passed down to future generations.