United States federal judge on Friday overturned California’s 32-year-old ban on assault weapons.
Gatekeepers News reports that California had banned the sale of assault weapons since 1989.
US District Judge Roger Benitez of San Diego ruled that the ban on assault weapons infringes the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms and strips Californians of owning assault-style weapons commonly allowed in other states.
Benitez issued a permanent injunction on Friday so the law cannot be enforced.
“Like the Swiss Army Knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defence weapon and homeland defence equipment,” Benitez said in the ruling.
“Firearms deemed as ‘assault weapons’ are fairly ordinary, popular, modern rifles.”
In his ruling, the judge also criticised the news media, writing, “One is to be forgiven if one is persuaded by news media and others that the nation is awash with murderous AR-15 assault rifles. The facts, however, do not support this hyperbole, and facts matter.”
FBI had in its report 2019, said the handgun was the most commonly used weapon in murders and accounted for 6,368 victims in that year.
Knives or cutting instruments accounted for 1,476 murders, rifles accounted for 364 murder victims, and “firearms, type not stated” accounted for 3,281 victims, FBI’s data had shown.
Gatekeepers News reports that Friday’s ruling has been greeted with sharp criticism as California official vowed to appeal the Judge’s decision.
Governor of California, Gavin Newsom said the AR-15 likened to a versatile pocket knife is a “weapon of war.”
Newsom, in a statement, said the comparison “completely undermines the credibility of this decision and is a slap in the face to the families who’ve lost loved ones to this weapon.”
The Governor added: “We’re not backing down from this fight, and we’ll continue pushing for common-sense gun laws that will save lives.”
California Attorney General, Rob Bonta said he will be appealing the ruling.
“Today’s decision is fundamentally flawed, and we will be appealing it,” Bonta said in a news release.
“There is no sound basis in law, fact, or common sense for equating assault rifles with swiss army knives – especially on Gun Violence Awareness Day and after the recent shootings in our own California communities,” his statement said.
Also, a White House spokesperson in a statement, said “Courts have again and again held that an assault weapons ban does not violate the Second Amendment, which is limited. The President continues to press for commonsense laws to reduce gun violence – including a ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines.”
