While proponents call for stricter gun control laws, opponents recorded a win in court last week. A federal judge temporarily blocked a California law that would have banned carrying concealed guns in public places. According to reports, the law prohibits residents from carrying firearms in “sensitive places.”
These places include places of worship, public libraries, amusement parks, zoos, and sporting events as of January 1, 2024. U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney backs the court’s decision in his preliminary injunction. He said the law would “unconstitutionally deprive” permit holders “of their right to carry a handgun in public for self-defense.”
In addition, Carney wrote that the California law “is repugnant to the Second Amendment, and defiant of the Supreme Court.” On the other hand, California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta, the defendant in the lawsuit, spoke about the ruling. He said in a statement that his office would appeal the decision.
Bonta said if the ruling stands, it “would endanger communities by allowing guns in places where families and children gather.” Bonta also added that “the court got this wrong.” Among a series of gun control measures signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom in September, the law applies to those with licenses to carry a concealed weapon.
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However, Carney kicked against it, saying it would deprive permit holders of their rights. “SB2 turns nearly every public place in California into a ‘sensitive place,'” Carney wrote in his order. “Effectively abolishing the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding and exceptionally qualified citizens to defend themselves in public.”
Following the court ruling, California Governor Gavin Newsom quickly hit back, claiming the decision defies common sense. “This ruling outrageously calls California’s data-backed gun safety efforts’ repugnant,'” Newsom said in a statement.
“What is repugnant is this ruling, which greenlights the proliferation of guns in our hospitals, libraries, and children’s playgrounds, spaces, which should be safe for all,” he added. “California will keep fighting to defend our laws and to enshrine a Right to Safety in the Constitution.”
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“The lives of our kids depend on it,” Newsom concluded. When he signed the gun laws in September, Newsom cited shootings across the country that left over 104 people dead. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 642 mass shootings nationwide this year.
These shootings include the mass shootings in California’s Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay, which left 18 people dead. However, the judge cited a recent landmark Supreme Court decision to justify blocking the sweeping California state law.
Before the court halted the law, the California Rifle and Pistol Association and Gun Owners of America challenged it. They argued that modern-day laws restricting gun ownership are only constitutional if consistent with the nation’s “historical tradition.”
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Chuck Michel, president of the California Rifle & Pistol Association, which filed a lawsuit against the law, condemned the move. He said it was another example of politicians refusing to accept Supreme Court rulings upholding the right to carry guns.
Similarly, Carney indicated that California had not provided a sufficient “historical analog” to similar laws banning weapons in “sensitive” areas. Following the ruling, gun rights groups celebrated Carney’s decision.
“This is a great day for Californians and human liberty,” said Firearms Policy Coalition President Brandon Combs. “The court’s decision is well-reasoned and the required result under the Constitution and binding Supreme Court precedent.”
However, the court’s ruling has led to a hotbed of discussions in the public domain. While some support the court’s decision, others clamor for stricter gun laws to curb gun violence in the state.
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