Judge rules that Californians have right to use latest handguns for self-defense

By 
 March 22, 2023

A judge ruled on Monday that Californians have the right to use the latest handguns under their Second Amendment rights.

U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney granted a preliminary injunction that opposes parts of the state's Unsafe Handgun Act that excludes certain handguns from purchase.

The decision

"The CA handgun roster is a list of new handguns that can be legally sold in the state, and those handguns are allowable in 2023 only by meeting the UHA provisions," Breitbart News reported.

"Carney noted that the UHA provisions have been changed/tightened so many times since its adoption in 1999 that California residents 'are largely restricted to…[handgun] models from over sixteen years ago,'" it added.

The concern

"Because enforcing those requirements implicates the plain text of the Second Amendment, and the government fails to point to any well-established historical analogues that are consistent with them, those requirements are unconstitutional and their enforcement must be preliminarily enjoined," Carney continued.

"The state's Unsafe Handgun Act (UHA) was enacted in 1999 and created the state's handgun roster, which has been amended repeatedly since that time," according to the report.

The new ruling comes as California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom continues to push for stronger gun regulations in his state.

“Only in America do we see the kind of carnage and chaos of gun violence that destroys our communities and our sense of safety and belonging. America is number 1 in gun ownership and we far surpass every developed nation on Earth in gun deaths – it’s not complicated. In California, we’ve passed common sense gun safety laws and they work: we have a 37% lower gun death rate than the national average," Newsom said in a February press release.

"We’re doubling down on gun safety and strengthening our public carry law to protect it from radical Republican attacks," he added.

Despite the strong talk, some of Newsom's efforts are not legal, something the judge's ruling highlighted.

The decision marks one new win for Second Amendment advocates in a state where gun rights are often opposed by the Democrats seeking political wins despite ongoing progressive problems in California.

 

" A free people [claim] their rights, as derived from the laws of nature."
Thomas Jefferson
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