Federal Judge Blocks California Law Banning Guns in Most Public Places
In a ruling on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney blocked a California law that would have prohibited carrying firearms in most public places, citing a violation of the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The law, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September, was set to take effect on January 1, but the injunction has halted its implementation.
The law would have banned carrying concealed guns in 26 places including public parks, playgrounds, churches, banks, and zoos, regardless of whether the person had a permit to carry a concealed weapon. The ruling also noted an exception for privately owned businesses that allowed guns on their premises.
Judge Carney granted a preliminary injunction, stating that the law was “sweeping, repugnant to the Second Amendment, and openly defiant of the Supreme Court.” The case against the law will continue while the injunction is in place, with expectations that gun rights groups will ultimately prove its unconstitutionality.
The decision marks a victory for the California Rifle and Pistol Association, which had filed a lawsuit to block the law. The association’s president, Chuck Michel, praised the ruling, stating that it makes Californians safer as it allows law-abiding citizens to defend themselves.
However, State Attorney General Rob Bonta has indicated that his office will appeal the decision, arguing that allowing guns in places where families and children gather would endanger communities. Likewise, Governor Newsom expressed his disappointment with the ruling and affirmed his commitment to advocating for stricter gun measures.
The ruling is expected to have broader implications, as it comes in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which set off a wave of states revising their own gun laws in response. The ruling in the California case emphasized the need for gun laws to align with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.
Judge Carney, a former Orange County Superior Court judge appointed to the federal bench in 2003, has attracted attention for his stance on this contentious issue. As the legal battle continues, the ruling has sparked a new chapter in the ongoing debate over gun control and the Second Amendment.