On Friday, Judge Roger T. Benitez issued a 94-page opinion striking down California's more than 30 year ban on "assault weapons." The ruling comes as little surprise, with Benitez proving himself over the past several years as a jurist who takes the Second Amendment and the Supreme Court's Heller decision seriously having struck down California's ban […]

Moving quickly on President Joe Biden's gun control agenda, the House of Representatives passed two bills that would make some of the stringent background check laws in place in Restricted States applicable nationwide. Nationwide Universal Background Checks The first bill, H.R. 8 - Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021, requires residents of the same state […]

Last week the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the 2-1 panel decision handed down last August in Duncan v. Becerra that found that California's arbitrary ban on magazines holding more than 10 rounds was an unconstitutional infringement on Second Amendment rights. A majority of the judges on the Ninth Circuit, despite the best efforts […]

A coalition of gun rights groups, individuals and firearms retailers have filed suit in an attempt to rid California of its so-called "Safe Handgun Roster." A brief history of the handgun roster A largely similar case, Pena v. Horan, was one of the 10 Second Amendment cases that were denied a hearing before the Supreme […]

Amy Coney Barrett is slated to be confirmed by the Senate later today and sworn in as a Supreme Court justice by Clarence Thomas later tonight. Barrett appears to be a solid fifth vote for removing the Second Amendment from its second-class right status. Why Amy Coney Barrett Scares Gun Grabbers Barrett's dissent in a […]

Second Amendment advocates scored wins against California's 20-year ban on standard-capacity magazines (now all too commonly referred to as "large capacity magazines") at both the district and appellate court levels. But with a vote coming up on whether an en banc panel will re-hear the case of Duncan v. Becerra, there are many people who aren't […]

As predicted, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra requested en banc review of the 2-1 Ninth Circuit panel decision that struck down the state's 20-year ban on so-called large capacity magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. Becerra argues that the panel's decision that the limit on the number of rounds a magazine can hold conflicts with […]

Last week the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that Judge Roger Benitez's decision to grant summary judgement against California's ban on so-called "large-capacity magazines" (LCM) was correct, because such a prohibition violates the Second Amendment. I will be talking about this case shortly on Dave Congalton's Hometown Radio Show starting at 6:05 p.m. […]

We'll be talking police reform, gun laws and more on the radio this afternoon starting at about 5:05 p.m. on the Dave Congalton Hometown Radio Show on 920 KVEC on California's Central Coast. You can listen live by clicking the link at the top of the page here. The current plan is to talk briefly […]

The Supreme Court made a clean sweep earlier today refusing to hear 10 Second Amendment cases that they had held pending the outcome in NYSRPA v. City of New York. The cases included ones seeking to define what the right to "bear" arms entails and also several ones that involved government bans on certain types […]

In response to a 120-page preliminary injunction by District Court Judge Roger T. Bernitez highlighting flaws in California's ammunition background check system and unconstitutional limits on interstate commerce, a three judge panel of the Ninth Circuit ruled 2-1 that the state was likely to prevail on the merits. Judges Barry Silverman, a Clinton appointee, and […]

U.S. District Court Judge Roger T. Benitez on Thursday afternoon struck down California's Ammo Background Check Law and its ban on direct, mail-order sales to state residents. Less than 48 hours later, the 9th Circuit, including an appointee of President Donald Trump, put a hold on Benitez's order pending California Attorney General Xavier Becerra's appeal […]