California cannot ban gun owners from having detachable magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, a federal judge ruled Friday.
The decision from U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez won’t take effect immediately. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, has already filed a notice to appeal the ruling. The ban is likely to remain in effect while the case is still pending.
This is the second time Benitez has struck down California’s law banning certain types of magazines. The first time he struck it down — way back in 2017 — an appeals court ended up reversing his decision.
I can turn my AR-15 into a short barrelled rifle (which is only legal after a very lengthy and intrusive federal process) by simply screwing a new barrel on. If you don’t care about the law, the barrier to doing it is tiny. That’s what we mean when we say it only affects people operating in good faith with the law. It’s so easy to bypass that it’s questionable if we should bother.
Do we have data that shows these laws have no impact? I would anticipate a lack of marketing and whatnot to have at least some benefit. Not all criminals necessarily know wtf they’re doing with a gun.
