The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday vacated a ruling in a San Diego case that upheld California’s ban on gun magazines that hold more than 10 bullets and sent it back to a lower court to reconsider following the high court’s major decision in a gun case last week.
The Supreme Court also ordered similar fresh looks on other gun restrictions in Hawaii, New Jersey and Maryland.
In light of last week’s ruling — which said that Americans have a right to carry a gun outside the home — the Supreme Court said lower courts should take another look at several cases that had been awaiting action by the high court. Those cases include one about a Maryland assault weapons ban and another regarding a Hawaii law that limits who can carry a gun outside the home.
The justices, in a 6-3 decision, last week struck down a New York law that required people to show “proper cause,” a specific need to carry a gun, if they wanted to carry a gun in public. Half a dozen states have similar laws that were called into question by the ruling.
In the New York case, the court’s conservative majority gave lower courts new guidance about how to evaluate gun restrictions. The justices rejected a two-step approach that appeals courts had previously used as having one step too many. They said courts assessing modern firearms regulations should just ask whether they are “consistent with the Second Amendment’s text and historical understanding.”
Sending other gun cases back to lower courts gives them the opportunity to apply that new guidance.
In its order Thursday, the Supreme Court ordered the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to revisit its 7-4 ruling last year that upheld California’s law banning magazines that hold more than 10 bullets. The order adds to the San Diego-based lawsuit’s lengthy path through the courts.
A 2018 New Jersey law limits most gun owners to magazines that hold up to 10 rounds of ammunition instead of the 15-round limit in place since 1990. A lower court upheld the law.
One of the cases the justices sent back to a lower court Thursday involved a Hawaii statute similar to New York’s. In that case, a panel of 11 judges on the 9th Circuit had ruled in 2021 that the right to “keep and bear arms” in the Constitution’s Second Amendment “does not guarantee an unfettered, general right to openly carry arms in public for individual self-defense.” But the high court said in its latest gun case that the Constitution protects “an individual’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home.” A lower court will now have to revisit the Hawaii ruling.
The justices also sent back for further review a case from Maryland that challenged the state’s 2013 ban on 45 kinds of assault weapons. The high court had in 2017 turned away a previous challenge to the law.
The 9th Circuit made a similar move earlier this week on a gun case challenging California’s ban on assault weapons. A 9th Circuit three-judge panel that was waiting to hear the case kicked it back down the the district court in Los Angeles, giving the lower court judge an opportunity to reconsider the case under the new guidance.
Another lawsuit out of San Diego that challenges the assault weapon ban is pending at the 9th Circuit, although the appellate court had previously determined it would be stayed until the Los Angeles case was decided.
Union-Tribune staff writer Kristina Davis contributed to this report.
FAQs
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday vacated a ruling in a San Diego case that upheld California's ban on gun magazines that hold more than 10 bullets and sent it back to a lower court to reconsider following the high court's major decision in a gun case last week.
Is the California ban on high capacity magazines overturned? ›
The ruling prompted a mountain of legal challenges to gun laws across the country, including in California. As a result, California's bans on high-capacity magazines and assault-style weapons were both overturned as unconstitutional in recent months by U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez in San Diego.
Can I still own high-capacity magazines in California? ›
Californians should know that the purchase, manufacture, or transfer of large-capacity magazines is against the law.
Can I buy a 30 round magazine in California in 2024? ›
Bonta. Attorney Michael Mongan, representing Bonta's office, told the panel that California law has no restrictions on the number of magazines someone can legally possess or the amount of ammunition they can have. However, it does limit the capacity of a magazine to 10 rounds, Mongan added.
Has the Supreme Court ruled on high-capacity magazines? ›
“Every court in Washington and across the country to consider challenges to a ban on the sale of high-capacity magazines under the U.S. or Washington Constitution has either rejected that challenge or been overruled. This law is constitutional.
Did the judge overturn the gun law in California? ›
U.S. District Judge William Hayes sided with a group of California residents, gun retailers and gun rights nonprofits in finding that the one-gun-a-month law did not fit within the nation's historical tradition of firearms regulation.
Is the ar15 banned in California? ›
These are often referred to as Category One assault weapons. Category Two: California law bans firearm models that are variations of the AK or AR-15, with only minor differences from those two models. (Pen. Code, § 30510 subds.
What happens if you get caught with a 30 round magazine in California? ›
The possession of a large-capacity magazine is a wobblette offense, meaning that it can be punished as either a California infraction or a misdemeanor.
Can I have a 25 round 22lr magazine in California? ›
In the State of California, the possession, sale, manufacture, or importation of large-capacity magazines is prohibited under Penal Code 32310 PC. This law is part of the state's effort to reduce gun violence by restricting access to ammunition-feeding devices capable of holding more than ten rounds.
Can I order a 10 round magazine in California? ›
California law banning gun magazines of more than 10 rounds struck down by federal judge. California cannot ban gun owners from having detachable magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, a federal judge ruled Friday.
A: You can buy as much ammo as you want. There will NOT be any quantity or caliber restrictions on the ammo you can buy. The purchase, no matter how big or small, will have to be electronically documented with the DOJ, which we will handle at the point of sale.
Can I have a loaded magazine in my car in California? ›
To legally transport a firearm in your vehicle, it must be: Unloaded; Locked in the trunk of the vehicle or in a locked container inside of the car (other than the glove box); and. Apparent and not concealed.
Can I carry a 15 round magazine in California? ›
With that decision, gun magazines with more than 10 rounds remain illegal to purchase, sell or transfer in California.
Is the mag ban unconstitutional? ›
Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Gary Bashor ruled Washington lawmakers' 2022 ban on sales of magazines that hold more than 10 rounds violates both the state and U.S. constitutions, the Seattle Times reported.
Can you buy extended magazines in California now? ›
Last updated December 31, 2023 . With limited exceptions, California law prohibits any person from manufacturing, importing into the state, keeping for sale, offering or exposing for sale, giving, lending, buying, or receiving a large capacity magazine.
Did the ammo ban get struck down in California? ›
A San Diego federal judge on Wednesday again struck down a state law that required background checks for nearly all purchases of firearm ammunition and barred California residents from bringing home ammunition that they purchased out of state.
Will the Washington magazine ban be overturned? ›
Court rules Washington's high-capacity magazine ban will stay in place while legal challenge unfolds. Although the legality of the high capacity magazine ban is being argued, the ban will remain in place while the legal process unfolds, a judge ordered.
Did they ban high-capacity magazines? ›
As of 2022, twelve U.S. states, and a number of local governments, ban or regulate magazines that they have legally defined as high-capacity.
What is the California ammo ruling in 2024? ›
The Details of Assembly Bill 28
This law mandates an additional state excise tax of 11% on retail purchases of guns and ammunition in California, beginning July 1, 2024. This added tax comes on top of the already existing federal FAET.
