OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
2:10 PM – Sunday, January 7, 2024
A recent California legislation that prevents people from carrying firearms in the majority of public places was once again obstructed from taking effect as a court case contesting it continues.
On Saturday, a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel abolished a temporary hold on a lower court injunction which blocks the legislation.
In mid-December, a United States District judge temporarily blocked the California law that was supposed to go into effect on January 1st.
Then, on December 30th, a federal appeals court overturned the district judge’s decision, allowing the law to take effect on New Year’s Day while the legal battle raged on.
However, on Saturday, the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit lifted the stay and reinstated the district judge’s decision to halt the legislation.
The law, which was signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom in September, forbids people from carrying a concealed weapon in 26 locations, such as zoos, churches, playgrounds, and public parks.
Regardless of whether the person is in possession of a concealed weapon permit, the ban is in effect. Privately owned companies that post signs indicating that firearms are permitted on their property are one exception.
On Saturday evening, Daniel Villaseñor, who is a spokesperson for Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.), made a statement regarding the law.
“The ruling is a dangerous decision that puts the lives of Californians on the line. We won’t stop working to defend our decades of progress on gun safety in our state,” Villaseñor said.
In April, the 9th Circuit panel will be hearing arguments regarding the case.
The law was challenged in court by the California Rifle and Pistol Association. A preliminary injunction was granted to block it on December 20th by the United States District Judge Cormac Carney, who stated that the law was “sweeping, repugnant to the Second Amendment, and openly defiant of the Supreme Court.”
Carney additionally stated that firearms rights organizations are likely to succeed in determining it as unconstitutional, which would mean that it would be permanently overturned.
In response to the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which sent several states struggling to enact their own laws, the law altered California’s concealed carry permit regulations.
According to that ruling, the test for determining whether gun laws are constitutional should be whether they are “consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”
The California Pistol and Rifle Association’s president, Chuck Michel, said in an earlier statement before Saturday’s ruling that under the law, “gun permit holders wouldn’t be able to drive across town without passing through a prohibited area and breaking the law.”
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