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Federal Court Upholds California High-Capacity Magazine Ban
Federal Court Upholds California High-Capacity Magazine Ban

Federal Court Upholds California High-Capacity Magazine Ban

California’s ban on high-capacity gun magazines passed another hurdle in court this week, but a federal judge gave gun owners an appeal.


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In his decision Wednesday, U.S. District Judge William Shubb said the law “doesn’t violate gun owners’ equal protection rights,” citing the fact that it exempts large-capacity magazines used as props in film and television.

“The court cannot know for certain why this exemption was included,” Shubb wrote in a court opinion “Nevertheless, the California electorate could have rationally believed that large capacity magazines used solely as props were not at risk of being used in mass shootings and that such an exception would benefit an important sector of the California economy.”

The measure in question, SB 1446, is one of several gun-related bills passed by the California Legislature and signed into law in 2016 that banned the possession of gun magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.

While a bill passed in 1999 prohibited the sale, manufacture or importation of high-capacity ammunition magazines, there was an exemption for people who bought the magazines before the law went into effect.

SB 1446 required gunowners with “grandfathered” magazines to turn them in for destruction by July 1, 2017, or face legal consequences, according to the law.

In Nov. 2016, voters also approved Proposition 63, which requires anyone who owns a large-capacity magazine to do one of three things: move it out of California, sell it to a licensed firearms dealer, or surrender it to a law enforcement agency to be destroyed.

Last year, CalGuns Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition, Firearms Policy Foundation and the Second Amendment Foundation challenged the ban along with seven individuals.

The groups had argued the law doesn’t prevent mass shootings, but the federal judge ruled otherwise, since the government only has to show a reasonable fit between the ban and its stated intent.

“There can be no serious argument that this is not a substantial government interest, especially in light of the mass shootings involving large capacity magazines, including the 2012 Aurora movie theater shooting and the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting, which were discussed in Proposition 63,” he wrote.

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Federal Court Upholds California High-Capacity Magazine Ban

2 comments

  1. What happened to ex pos facto

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About Devon Miller

Devon Miller was born and raised in Santa Clarita. He joined KHTS Radio as a digital marketing intern in September of 2017, and later moved to news as a staff writer in December. Miller attended College of the Canyons and served as the Associated Student Government President. Miller is now News Director for KHTS, covering breaking news and politics across the Santa Clarita Valley.