LOS ANGELES – A California law banning people from carrying firearms in most public places will go into effect on New Year’s Day, even as court cases continue to challenge the law.
A US district judge issued a ruling on December 20 to block the law from taking effect, saying it violates the Constitution’s Second Amendment and deprives people of the ability to defend themselves and their loved ones.
But on Saturday, a federal appeals court temporarily stayed the district judge’s decision.
The appeals court decision allows the law to take effect as the legal battle continues.
Attorneys are scheduled to file arguments with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in January and February.
The law, signed by Democrat Gavin Newsom, prohibits people from carrying concealed weapons in 26 places including public parks and playgrounds, churches, banks and zoos.
The ban applies regardless of whether the person has a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
One exception is for privately owned businesses that post signs stating that the public is allowed to carry firearms on their premises.
A California law banning people from carrying firearms in most public places will go into effect on New Year’s Day. AP Photo/Pedroncelli Kaya, File
“This ruling will allow our common-sense gun laws to remain in place while we appeal the district court’s dangerous decision,” Newsom posted to X, formerly Twitter, after the appeals court acted Saturday. “Californians strongly support efforts to ensure that places like hospitals, libraries and children’s playgrounds remain safe and gun-free.”
The California Rifle and Pistol Association sued to block the law. When US District Judge Cormac Carney granted a preliminary injunction blocking the law, he wrote that the law was “sweeping, repugnant to the Second Amendment, and openly defies the Supreme Court.”
Carney wrote that gun rights groups would likely succeed in proving it unconstitutional, meaning it would be struck down permanently.
The law overhauls California’s rules for concealed carry permits based on the Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which set several states scrambling to respond with their own laws.
The ruling said that the constitutionality of gun laws must be evaluated on whether they are “consistent with the historical tradition of national gun regulation.”
Newsom said he would continue to push for stricter gun measures.
Newsom has positioned himself as a national leader on gun control while he is increasingly seen as a potential presidential candidate. He has called for and signed numerous bills, including measures targeting untraceable “ghost guns,” the marketing of firearms to children and allowing the public to bring lawsuits over gun violence. The law is modeled on Texas’ anti-abortion law.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta appealed Carney’s decision. Bonta, a Democrat, said that if the district judge’s decision to block the law is upheld, it “will harm the community by allowing firearms in places where families and children gather.”
The president of the California Pistol and Rifle Association, Chuck Michel, said in a statement that under the law, gun permit holders “will not be able to drive across town without passing through restricted areas and breaking the law.” Michel said criminals are deterred when law-abiding citizens can defend themselves.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
