Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

U.S. Olympian: 1, Gun Controllers: 0 – Judge Blocks Unconstitutional California Ammunition Laws

Monday, April 27, 2020

U.S. Olympian: 1, Gun Controllers: 0 – Judge Blocks Unconstitutional California Ammunition Laws

Kim Rhode is one of America’s most decorated Olympians, having medaled in six consecutive summer games. California, however, passed ammunition purchase laws that effectively blocked the El Monte resident – as well as police officers and other Californians who wanted ammunition for lawful purposes –  from obtaining the supplies she needed to maintain peak proficiency. With the backing of the National Rifle Association and its California state affiliate, Ms. Rhode and other Golden State residents sued, claiming the laws violated their Second Amendment rights.

On Thursday, U.S. Judge Roger Benitez agreed that was likely the case and issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the laws. “Law-abiding citizens are imbued with the unalienable right to keep and bear firearms along with the ammunition to make their firearms work,” Judge Benitez wrote. “That a majority today may wish it were otherwise, does not change the Constitutional right. It never has.”

The challenged restrictions required every firearm ammunition sale, transfer, or delivery in California to occur in a face-to-face transaction with a dealer licensed by the state, which in turn required a background check and payment of a fee. Direct catalog or Internet ammunition sales were effectively banned, as was importing ammunition acquired in another state. Prospective purchasers had four different ways to satisfy the background check requirement, each necessitating different levels of bureaucracy and fees.

The measures were enacted in 2016 by a ballot initiative known as Proposition 63, the misnamed “Safety for All Act,” and amended by the legislature in a separate bill.  A better title for the outcome, however, would have been the “Ammunition for Few or None Act.”

So intricate and confusing were the regulations under review that the court’s opinion stretched to 120 pages, in large part because of the laborious descriptions of the various pathways beleaguered individuals wanting to exercise their constitutional rights could try to negotiate. Judge Benitez even felt it necessary to warn readers of the opinion that its descriptions of how the laws operated were by necessity “dreadfully boring and convoluted.”

As the court’s opinion noted, up to 12 million Californians were effectively blocked from using their state-issued driver’s licenses to provide the mandatory proof of identity and citizenship for the seemingly quickest, simplest, and cheapest option, a $1 point-of-sale, computerized background check.

This is because California issues drivers licenses to illegal immigrants (a class prohibited under federal law from firearm and ammunition possession), and those licenses are indistinguishable from licenses of the same class issued to persons lawfully in the country.

Thus, supposedly to prevent violations of federal law (in contrast to its other “sanctuary” stances), the California Department of Justice would not allow ammunition dealers to accept this form of proof. This meant these citizens had to spend more money (up to $145) and more time (up to 22 weeks) to obtain other recognized documentation of citizenship or to try one of the other more costly and lengthy background check options.

Yet even those who were able to attempt the point-of-sale background check were falsely denied about 16% of the time, resulting in over 101,000 denials to eligible persons (versus 188 ineligible persons who were identified and blocked by this pathway through the system).

The first of the other three background check options was a manual background check that required an application and processing by a human analyst. It was 19 times more expensive than the point-of-sale “instant” check and required waiting more than a day at best and perhaps several weeks at worst. It also had to be repeated every single time a person wanted to obtain ammunition.

The third option was to obtain a “certificate of eligibility” through what the court simply characterized as “a long and expensive process” requiring periodic renewals.

The fourth and final option was to actually buy a firearm (a daunting and time-consuming prospect in its own right in California), at which point ammunition could also be obtained when the firearm was finally picked up from the dealer.

Judge Benitez correctly concluded that the overall effect of this scheme was to block or discourage law-abiding California residents from exercising their rights to obtain ammunition, while posing few barriers to criminals, who already prove capable of flouting background check requirements in obtaining guns. 

In analyzing the Second Amendment’s significance to this scheme, Judge Benitez noted, “One intended effect of the Bill of Rights is to protect the minority from abuse by the majority by keeping some rights beyond the reach of majoritarian rule.” He also pointed out that the case law is clear that “the right to possess firearms for protection implies a corresponding right to obtain the bullets necessary to use them.”

The opinion stated there were two basic legal questions at issue in the case. One, “Is an untried, untested, sweeping ammunition background check system, that returns an unusually high percentage of rejections, a constitutionally-permissible burden to impose on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding responsible citizens who desire to defend themselves with whatever common ammunition suits their situation?” Two, “Does a law which discriminates against ammunition sales in interstate commerce with alternative means to achieve its ends violate the dormant Commerce Clause?”

The court determined, at this preliminary stage, that the answer to both questions would likely be yes. It also found that the harm the measures inflicted on the plaintiffs’ ability to exercise their constitutional rights outweighed the asserted safety justifications claimed by the state.

The “naive assumption that prohibited persons will subject themselves to background checks to buy ammunition,” Judge Benitez concluded, could not justify blocking untold numbers of law-abiding people from exercising their rights or discouraging them from even trying to do so.

Particularly in Second Amendment challenges to California gun control, a judge’s ruling on a temporary injunction is rarely the last word in a case. Shortly after Judge Benitez issue his order, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted California’s request for an emergency stay of the preliminary injunction. The effect of that stay is that the ammunition laws remain in effect. It is not, however, a decision by the appellate court on the merits of the preliminary induction.

For now, at least, Olympian Kim Rhode has chalked up another win. Only this time it was not just a medal and national pride at stake but the rights and protection of millions of her fellow Californians.

TRENDING NOW
Baltimore Gets Serious on Crime Control, and the Results Speak for Themselves

News  

Monday, July 14, 2025

Baltimore Gets Serious on Crime Control, and the Results Speak for Themselves

As the mid-year mark of 2025 hits, a promising report on crime trends has come out of the City of Baltimore. Surprising news at first glance until you dig deeper into the policy direction the ...

U.K. Moves to Legally De-suppress Suppressors

News  

Monday, July 14, 2025

U.K. Moves to Legally De-suppress Suppressors

On July 4th, President Donald Trump signed into law his “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which included a provision that eliminated the tax stamp fee of $200, but did not deregulate suppressors under the National Firearms ...

President Trump Supports Hunting and Resource Protection with Executive Actions

News  

Monday, July 14, 2025

President Trump Supports Hunting and Resource Protection with Executive Actions

Just as the United States was preparing to celebrate 249 beautiful years, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order on July 3rd establishing the “Make America Beautiful Again" Commission supporting hunters, outdoorsmen, and outdoor recreationists by prioritizing the ...

Legacy Media Finally Acknowledges Politization of Public Health

News  

Monday, July 14, 2025

Legacy Media Finally Acknowledges Politization of Public Health

It appears the editors of The Atlantic are finally willing to entertain an idea that has long been obvious to gun rights supporters.

House Annual Appropriations Process Update

News  

Monday, July 14, 2025

House Annual Appropriations Process Update

As the House Appropriations Committee is putting together legislation to fund the government, NRA-ILA has worked closely with policy makers to ensure several long-standing priorities for gun owners were included in the underlying bills.

U.S. House Passes Reconciliation Bill, Removing Suppressors from the National Firearms Act

News  

Second Amendment  

Thursday, May 22, 2025

U.S. House Passes Reconciliation Bill, Removing Suppressors from the National Firearms Act

Earlier today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.1 the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which included Section 2 of the Hearing Protection Act, completely removing suppressors from the National Firearms Act (NFA).

DOJ Declines to Seek Supreme Court Review of Decision Striking Down Federal Laws Prohibiting FFLs From Selling Handguns to 18-to-20-Year-Olds

Thursday, July 10, 2025

DOJ Declines to Seek Supreme Court Review of Decision Striking Down Federal Laws Prohibiting FFLs From Selling Handguns to 18-to-20-Year-Olds

In Reese v. ATF, the Fifth Circuit held that 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(b)(1) and (c)(1)—which together forbid Federal Firearms Licensees from selling handguns to 18-to-20-year-olds—violate the Second Amendment.

NRA-ILA July 2025 Litigation Update

Thursday, July 10, 2025

NRA-ILA July 2025 Litigation Update

In the second quarter of 2025, the National Rifle Association filed two cert petitions in the U.S. Supreme Court and five amicus briefs, while continuing to litigate dozens of ongoing lawsuits across the country.

Florida: Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday Signed by Governor

Monday, July 7, 2025

Florida: Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday Signed by Governor

Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed the Florida Budget for Fiscal Year 2025–2026, which includes a Second Amendment sales tax holiday from September 8 through December 31, 2025. The NRA is thankful for Governor DeSantis’ strong ...

Maine: Lawmakers Call for Anti-2A Progressive Professor to Be Fired

Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Maine: Lawmakers Call for Anti-2A Progressive Professor to Be Fired

In case you missed the media firestorm last week, a progressive professor at Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor, Maine, has come under fire for her emails belittling a student for her religious beliefs and views ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.