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9th Circuit Rules CA's Mag Ban Unconstitutional

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https://sigforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/320601935/m/6950074374

August 14, 2020, 12:58 PM
Il Cattivo
9th Circuit Rules CA's Mag Ban Unconstitutional
Hmm. Not sure I'm happy with the emphasis on grandfather clauses and the court's apparent readiness to tolerate intermediate scrutiny (no matter how much they emphasize it's "bite") if a lawyer can come up with an argument that the regulation doesn't impose on the Second Amendment "enough". OTOH, I can dig the historical analysis.

Now let's see what the full circuit does.
August 14, 2020, 01:02 PM
ChicagoSigMan
quote:
Originally posted by bigdeal:
Dwill104 likely provided the textbook answer to my question, though I wish the judges had at least shown 'some' interest in why 10 rounds meets some threshold for public safety.


The answer is that courts do not decide or examine issues that are not required for their decision. In this case, once they decided that the CA law substantially burdened a fundamental right, then the only question is whether it is a permissible infringement. That questions rests on whether the LCMs, as defined in the statute at issue, are "dangerous and unusual." The court found that they are not unusual, so that's pretty much the end of the story.

There was no legal need to wade into the policy matter about what number of rounds meets a certain threshold for public safety.
August 14, 2020, 01:19 PM
9mmepiphany
quote:
Originally posted by ChicagoSigMan:
That questions rests on whether the LCMs, as defined in the statute at issue, are "dangerous and unusual." The court found that they are not unusual,

Certainly not unusual in the state given the millions of dollars spent during "Freedom Week" before the prior stay went into effect




No, Daoism isn't a religion



August 14, 2020, 01:25 PM
konata88
Wait, is this the latest supersede of the prior ruling and injunction? Is this done and permanent?




"Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it." L.Tolstoy
"A government is just a body of people, usually, notably, ungoverned." Shepherd Book
August 14, 2020, 01:28 PM
Flashlightboy
quote:
Originally posted by bigdeal:
quote:
Originally posted by Flashlightboy:
quote:
Originally posted by bigdeal:
quote:
Originally posted by jhe888:
https://michellawyers.com/wp-c...20-08-14-Opinion.pdf

Here is the opinion. Much more interesting that a NRA tweet.
Ok, I read the summary opinion. It is interesting. However, since I'm no attorney, I thought I'd pose this question to you. The court threw around the term Large Capacity Magazine (LCM) throughout, but never once addressed the issue that LCM is not an 'accepted defined' term (i.e. means different things to different people). Why? That seems a pivotal aspect of this. A made up term is being used to justify a case seeking to infringe on a constitutional right yet it doesn't appear anyone on the court had any interest in that aspect.

It also appears a couple of the judges (as usual) were totally fine with tromping on the Constitution yet again.


CA defines LCM as more than 10.
That was not my question. What if Illinois defines LCM as 8 rounds, New York defines it as 7 rounds, and other states don't define LCM at all. The term is not well defined or in common use. I just was curious as to why the court never questioned the term at all. Dwill104 likely provided the textbook answer to my question, though I wish the judges had at least shown 'some' interest in why 10 rounds meets some threshold for public safety.


States are free, as you said, to come up with whatever defintion of LCM they want but in that sense, a state could come out and say anything that holds more than one is a LCM.

In that odd case a state would have an extremely hard time saying they aren't infringing on 2nd A rights with such a ban so the states picked some random number such as 10. 10 means nothing v. 8 or 9 or 6 or 15 but the analysis from this court doesn't really say the amount of rounds is the issue.

In the broader analysis the majority said that CA's ban of 10 or more didn't pass muster and the rationale would be the same regardless but also notice that at the end of the opinion they spelled out what they think the state can do with guns but specifically said the the 10 round ban was the only issue in front of them and were not addressing bans on super high cap mags. I imagine they are talking about C Mag.
August 14, 2020, 01:40 PM
Russ59
I still have two new 30 mags in the wrapper she this happened last year (or was 2018?).

Regardless, I’m headed to buy some ammo!


P229
August 14, 2020, 01:41 PM
jhe888
quote:
Originally posted by ChicagoSigMan:
quote:
Originally posted by jhe888:
https://michellawyers.com/wp-c...20-08-14-Opinion.pdf

Here is the opinion. Much more interesting that a NRA tweet.


Thanks. I was looking for it to post. No need to be rude about it.


I wan't trying to be rude to you. Perhaps to the NRA. Sorry.




The fish is mute, expressionless. The fish doesn't think because the fish knows everything.
August 14, 2020, 01:42 PM
TigerDore
quote:
Originally posted by Dwill104:

With John Roberts there, the dick smacking may not go as you think.

I agree with you. Roberts is a wild card and has already shown he doesn't mind taking a dump on the Constitution.



.
August 14, 2020, 01:45 PM
jhe888
quote:
Originally posted by bigdeal:
quote:
Originally posted by jhe888:
https://michellawyers.com/wp-c...20-08-14-Opinion.pdf

Here is the opinion. Much more interesting that a NRA tweet.
Ok, I read the summary opinion. It is interesting. However, since I'm no attorney, I thought I'd pose this question to you. The court threw around the term Large Capacity Magazine (LCM) throughout, but never once addressed the issue that LCM is not an 'accepted defined' term (i.e. means different things to different people). Why? That seems a pivotal aspect of this. A made up term is being used to justify a case seeking to infringe on a constitutional right yet it doesn't appear anyone on the court had any interest in that aspect.

It also appears a couple of the judges (as usual) were totally fine with tromping on the Constitution yet again.


No, they are only using the term large capacity magazine to describe the thing banned by the statute. It is a shorthand for "magazine with a capacity over ten." I know we would prefer to call it something else as spin, but even the dissent didn't try to use "large capacity" to justify the regulation. In other words, it is not a pivotal aspect of the case.

In fact the majority spent a lot of ink describing the history of firearms with relatively high ammo capacity. That was done for other legal reasons, though.




The fish is mute, expressionless. The fish doesn't think because the fish knows everything.
August 14, 2020, 01:49 PM
jhe888
quote:
Originally posted by Il Cattivo:
Hmm. Not sure I'm happy with the emphasis on grandfather clauses and the court's apparent readiness to tolerate intermediate scrutiny (no matter how much they emphasize it's "bite") if a lawyer can come up with an argument that the regulation doesn't impose on the Second Amendment "enough". OTOH, I can dig the historical analysis.

Now let's see what the full circuit does.


It applied strict scutiny, which is not "tolerating" intermediate scrutiny. I think the court did the intermediate scrutiny analysis to provide a roadmap to other courts as to why, even if they applied intermediate scrutiny, similar regulation should fail anyway.




The fish is mute, expressionless. The fish doesn't think because the fish knows everything.
August 14, 2020, 01:55 PM
corsair
quote:
Originally posted by konata88:
Wait, is this the latest supersede of the prior ruling and injunction? Is this done and permanent?

This was the appeal from last years initial ruling.
August 14, 2020, 02:04 PM
bobtheelf
Good thing I don't need to buy any magazines right now, because they're all going to be bought up in California!
August 14, 2020, 02:07 PM
oddball
quote:
Originally posted by konata88:
Is this done and permanent?


Last I heard, this is not final, per Chuck Michel



"I’m not going to read Time Magazine, I’m not going to read Newsweek, I’m not going to read any of these magazines; I mean, because they have too much to lose by printing the truth"- Bob Dylan, 1965
August 14, 2020, 02:12 PM
airsoft guy
quote:
Originally posted by Jimbo54:
Great news indeed. The Wa. state legislature has been working on banning high capacity mags and this should end that nonsense once and for all.

Jim


Indeed. I don't think it'll stop Sideshow Bob and his Bloomberg buddies from trying, but it'll be a great barrier to actually getting it done.



quote:
Originally posted by Will938:
If you don't become a screen writer for comedy movies, then you're an asshole.
August 14, 2020, 02:20 PM
LS1 GTO
Still waiting for the main stream media to puck up the story.






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The definition of the words we used, carry a meaning of their own...



August 14, 2020, 02:20 PM
Batty67
Great, great news. I suspect a motion to maintain the LCM ban pending additional judicial review will be forthcoming, and I'd presume it has a great chance of being upheld within a week. All non California folks should hold-off buying mags online so our CA peeps can get them while they still can.
August 14, 2020, 02:22 PM
ChicagoSigMan
quote:
Originally posted by oddball:
quote:
Originally posted by konata88:
Is this done and permanent?


Last I heard, this is not final, per Chuck Michel


Is is not final in the sense that California now has the option of petitioning for an en banc rehearing or petitioning to SCOTUS for cert.

I am not aware that the 9th circuit has issued a stay of its ruling pending any potential appeals, so as it stands today, the mag ban is unenforceable.

Also worth noting, this opinion is binding not just on CA but also HI.
August 14, 2020, 02:25 PM
medic451
Some folks are saying this ruling doesnt make it legal to purchase magazines yet, and that Benitez would need to the lift the stay on his own ruling first. My question is now that the 9th upheld his original ruling that a magazine ban was unconstitutional, wouldnt his stay on his judgement be automatically moot at this point?



"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I require the same from them."
- John Wayne in "The Shootist"
August 14, 2020, 02:26 PM
Kskelton
So does this mean California can buy high cap mags again? Or does it still need to go through more hurdles before it’s official?


www.OneStopFirearms.com
August 14, 2020, 02:29 PM
RichardC
Strict scrutiny, Intermediate scrutiny and rational basis:

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/strict_scrutiny

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/intermediate_scrutiny

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/rational_basis

For hours of entertainment, open your favorite net-search machine and enter the terms " Second Amendment" and " Scrutiny".


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