Nice to see a judge rule in favor of We The People and the Constitution
Californians don’t have to pass a background check every time they buy bullets, federal judge rules
California residents don’t have to pay for and pass a background check every time they buy bullets, a federal judge has ruled.
The Tuesday ruling by U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez took effect immediately. California Attorney General Rob Bonta asked Benitez on Wednesday to delay the ruling to give him time to appeal the decision. It’s unclear if Benitez will grant that request.
Many states, including California, make people pass a background check before they can buy a gun. California goes a step further by requiring a background check, which cost either $1 or $19 depending on eligibility, every time people buy bullets. A few other states also require background checks for buying ammunition, but most let people buy a license that is good for a few years.
California’s law is meant to help police find people who have guns illegally — like convicted felons, people with mental illnesses and those with some domestic violence convictions. Sometimes they order kits online and assemble guns in their home. The guns don’t have serial numbers and are difficult for law enforcement to track, but the people who own them show up in background checks when they try to buy bullets.
Benitez said California’s law violates the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution because if people can’t buy bullets, they can’t use their guns for self-defense. He criticized the state’s automated background check system, which he said rejected about 11% of applicants, or 58,087 requests, in the first half of 2023.
“How many of the 58,087 needed ammunition to defend themselves against an impending criminal threat and how many were simply preparing for a sporting event, we will never know,” Benitez wrote. “What is known is that in almost all cases, the 322 individuals that are rejected each day are being denied permission to freely exercise their Second Amendment right — a right which our Founders instructed shall not be infringed.”
If the People’s Republik Of California was smart, and not just trying to create a massive impediment to the purchase of ammo for law abiding citizens which makes owning a firearm difficult, they would have done something like requiring a background check every so many years and not charge for it, if the idea is to keep criminals and people who didn’t purchase a firearm legally from using it for mayhem. You could be given a card like a license or have it on an app. Some might object, but, I would be good with this. It wouldn’t be a perfect system, but, it would keep a lot of criminals from getting ammo for their stolen firearms. But, the way the PRC did it was harassment of law abiding citizens.
PRC could get around that ruling by passing a law to make everyone in the state get a background check and then put the people who fail into jail or deport them to their home countries. Then the law-abiding citizens could live in peace.
Today’s left, as exemplified by the Pyrite State, scream about the rights of ‘transgender’ kids to get medication and surgery to live their ‘authentic lives,’ of women to slaughter their preborn children, queers to marry each other, and boys to use girls’ locker rooms, restrooms, and sports teams, none of which are mentioned anywhere in the Constitution, but when it comes to rights actually mentioned — the right to keep and bear arms, the right of peaceable assembly, freedom of religion and freedom of speech — there’s always a good, good reason to trample upon them.
Judge Roger Benitez, a naturalized citizen born in Cuba, was appointed by George W Bush, over the objections of the American Bar Association who argued that Benitez was unqualified.
Under other circumstances conservatives would refer to Benitez as an “affirmative action” hire, LOL!!
Over the years in reference to all of Benitez’ pro-gun rulings, California Governor Gavin Newsome has referred to Benitez as “Extremist, Right-Wing Zealot with no regard for human life”, a “Stone-Cold Ideologue” and a “Subsidiary of the Gun Lobby and the National Rifle Association.”
Just how stupid are the PRC legislators? Like every anti-gun law, this law would have ZERO effect on homicide rates. Just like drugs, the black market will provide all the illegal ammo Obama sons could ever want. Besides the black market there are always, cartel supplies, burglaries, thefts, straw purchases, out of state purchases, making their own, and stocking up before law goes into effect. Oh, and don’t discount the federal government providing illegal ammunition when a Republican is president.