A federal court has struck down California’s ban on high capacity magazines, calling it unconstitutional. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has been notoriously liberal for years until President Trump appointed some conservatives to it, struck down the law on Friday, August 14th.
The law prohibited “LCM” (Large Capacity Magazines) that held more than 10 rounds. Yes, anything above 10 rounds was considered a “large-capacity magazine.”
Trump-appointee Judge Kenneth Lee gave the opinion of the court and argued that the ban violated the Second Amendment and that LCM’s are commonly used and used lawfully:
“First, the panel held that firearm magazines are protected arms under the Second Amendment.
Second, the panel held that LCMs are commonly owned and typically used for lawful purposes, and are not “unusual arms” that would fall outside the scope of the Second Amendment.
Third, the panel held that LCM prohibitions are not longstanding regulations and do not enjoy a presumption of lawfulness.
Fourth, the panel held that there was no persuasive historical evidence in the record showing LCM possession fell outside the ambit of Second Amendment protection.
Lee continued to say how the ban oppresses the right to self-defense:
“California’s near-categorical ban of LCMs infringes on the fundamental right to self-defense. It criminalizes the possession of half of all magazines in America today…
It makes unlawful magazines that are commonly used in handguns by law abiding citizens for self-defense. And it substantially burdens the core right of self-defense guaranteed to the people under the Second Amendment,” Judge Kenneth Lee wrote in the majority opinion. “It cannot stand.”
Throughout the full opinion of the court, the judges acknowledged the nobility of trying to reduce gun violence but argued that the measures taken to prevent violence must be in tandem with the Second Amendment, and this law was certainly not.
Judge Lee also acknowledged that the statistics presented to him did not indicate that high capacity magazines were so commonly used by criminals that it would indicate a need to pull said magazines out of the hands of law-abiding citizens. There were two other judges on the deciding panel.
Circuit Judge Consuelo M Callahan, a Bush-appointee who agreed with Judge Lee, and District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn, a Clinton-appointee who dissented based on precedent
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