Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador are leading a coalition of 25 states in challenging California’s recent restrictions on ammunition purchases. The group argues that these measures infringe on Second Amendment rights.
“California has spun a web of burdensome laws designed to stop residents from buying ammunition,” Yost said in a Jan. 6 news release posted on the AG’s website. “The right to bear arms includes the right to buy ammunition — and we’re asking the court to once again declare these laws unconstitutional.”
On January 5, an amicus brief was filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, urging the court to maintain an injunction that prevents California from enforcing its background-check requirements for ammunition purchases.
According to the release, these regulations could require California residents to pay up to $19 and wait nearly a week each time they purchase ammunition. Similar rules apply when importing ammunition from out of state.
The brief contends that such laws create an unconstitutional burden on Californians’ Second Amendment rights. It states: “California’s ammunition background-check and anti-importation provisions make firearms unusable to California residents unless they buy the state’s renewed permission to reload them every time they run low on ammunition.”
The document also refers to legal precedent supporting that the right to bear arms includes access to ammunition, and argues that California has not demonstrated that its regulations align with historical tradition. The brief claims these laws are unprecedented.
Two courts, including a three-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit, have previously found that these regulations violate constitutional rights. However, the full Ninth Circuit will rehear the case at California’s request.
Attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming joined Yost and Labrador in signing the amicus brief.
A separate amicus brief was submitted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). According to a Jan. 6 article by NRA-ILA:
Yesterday, the U.S. DOJ and the 25-state coalition each filed amicus briefs arguing that the ammunition restrictions violate the Second Amendment.
The DOJ’s brief asserts that the laws establishing the background check requirement “do not pass even the ‘laugh test,’” because they “evoke[] a convoluted board game, not a serious attempt to further a legitimate purpose.” The regulation is “designed to burden the exercise of the right to bear arms,” the DOJ argues, and “a firearms regulation that seeks to frustrate the exercise of the right to keep and bear arms is a per se violation of the Second Amendment.”
Organizations like Buckeye Firearms Association focus their efforts in Ohio as grassroots advocates for firearm rights. They provide legislative updates and alerts related to gun rights through their official website as well as their own platform. Their work centers around informing Ohioans about legislation affecting gun ownership for self-defense or recreation purposes.
