US Appeals Court Upholds California Assault Weapons Ban, Landmark Decision Aims to Maintain Public Safety

California's assault weapons prohibition will continue to be in effect until the state attorney general files an appeal of a lower court ruling that deemed the 30-year-old law illegal, according to a ruling made on Saturday by a U.S. appeals court.

Three judges on a divided panel from the 9th U.S. The Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated the United States' last-week-issued injunction, according to Reuters. Until the case is finished being reviewed, District Judge Roger Benitez in San Diego will not be able to act.

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(Photo: by David McNew/Getty Images) LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 13: A sign calling for a ban on assault-type weapons is held at a vigil for the worst mass shooting in United States history on June 13, 2016 in Los Angeles, United States. A gunman killed 49 people and wounded 53 others at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida early yesterday morning before suspect Omar Mateen also died on-scene.

The tribunal also unanimously decided to accelerate the consideration of state Attorney General Rob Bonta's appeal in favor of the firearms law.

"Keep and Bear Arms"

Benitez, siding with proponents of gun rights, decided on October 19 that it was against U.S. law for the ban on assault weapons to deny law-abiding persons access to semiautomatic weapons like the AR-15. The Second Amendment of the Constitution grants the freedom to "keep and bear arms."

However, the 9th Circuit panel overturned the judge's decision by a 2-1 margin, noting the full appeals court's judgment in a related case that the attorney general was likely to win on the merits and had demonstrated that "California would be irreparably harmed absent a stay."

Democrat Bonta, who referred to Benitez's choice as "dangerous and misguided," applauded the 9th Circuit's ruling on Saturday.

After a school massacre in which five children were killed, California became the first state in the United States to outlaw assault rifles in 1989. The next year, the legislation was further strengthened.

Firearms Restrictions

Since that time, the state of California has placed restrictions on the production, distribution, transportation, importation, sale, and possession of firearms that the law defines as "assault weapons," which are defined as firearms with specific tactical enhancements or configurations intended to make them more lethal to the general public and therefore more likely to be used illegally.

In 2021, Benitez judged the same law to be unlawful. On the other hand, the 9th U.S. Circuit overturned his decision last year and instructed Benitez to look into the situation further.

Benitez also declared the high-capacity ammunition magazine prohibition in California to be unlawful last month. However, the 9th Circuit later permitted that legislation to continue in force while the state filed an appeal.

In a statement, Chuck Michel, the leader of the California Rifle & Pistol Association, voiced his displeasure and pledged to "defend the rights of gun owners in California all the way to the Supreme Court."