![]() ![]() In a preliminary ruling in September, Benitez said California's complicated legal definition of assault weapons can ensnare otherwise law-abiding gun owners with criminal penalties that among other things can strip them of their Second Amendment right to own firearms. "In California, murder by knife occurs seven times more often than murder by rifle," he added. ![]() The facts, however, do not support this hyperbole, and facts matter." "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. ![]() "This is an average case about average guns used in average ways for average purposes," the ruling said. Those arms are dangerous and solely useful for military purposes," his ruling said.ĭespite California's ban, there currently are an estimated 185,569 assault weapons registered with the state, the judge said. The banned 'assault weapons' are not bazookas, howitzers, or machine guns. "This case is not about extraordinary weapons lying at the outer limits of Second Amendment protection. Overturning the ban would allow not only assault rifles, but things like assault shotguns and assault pistols, state officials said. Similar assault weapon restrictions have previously been upheld by six other federal district and appeals courts, the state argued. Assault weapons as defined by the law are more dangerous than other firearms and are disproportionately used in crimes, mass shootings and against law enforcement, with more resulting casualties, the state attorney general's office argued, and barring them "furthers the state's important public safety interests."įurther, a surge in sales of more than 1.16 million other types of pistols, rifles and shotguns in the last year - more than a third of them to likely first-time buyers - show that the assault weapons ban "has not prevented law-abiding citizens in the state from acquiring a range of firearms for lawful purposes, including self-defense," the state contended in a court filing in March. ![]()
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