Federal judge blocks California law banning guns in most public places

A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked a California law that would have banned carrying firearms in most public places, ruling that it violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and deprives people of their ability to defend themselves and their loved ones.

The law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September was set to take effect Jan. 1. It would have banned people from carrying concealed guns in 26 places including public parks and playgrounds, churches, banks and zoos. It would apply whether the person has a permit to carry a concealed weapon or not. One exception would be for privately owned businesses that put up signs saying people are allowed to carry guns on their premises.

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U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney granted a preliminary injunction blocking the law, which he wrote was “sweeping, repugnant to the Second Amendment, and openly defiant of the Supreme Court.”

The decision is a victory for the California Rifle and Pistol Association, which sued to block the law. The measure overhauled the state’s rules for concealed carry permits in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen.

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“This is about common sense, reasonable and responsible measures to protect our children, our families, our communities,” President Joe Biden said Friday during a visit to Lewiston, Maine, following the shootings that left 18 people dead.

“California progressive politicians refuse to accept the Supreme Court’s mandate from the Bruen case and are trying every creative ploy they can imagine to get around it,” the California association's president, Chuck Michel, said in a statement. “The Court saw through the State’s gambit.”

Michel said under the law, gun permit holders “wouldn’t be able to drive across town without passing through a prohibited area and breaking the law.” He said the judge's decision makes Californians safer because criminals are deterred when law-abiding citizens can defend themselves.