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.
Read: Judge Rules PRC Cannot Force Law Abiding Citizens To Get Background Checks To Buy Ammo »