In the case of Jones v. Bonta, a three-judge panel for the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a California prohibition on sales of semiautomatic rifles to young adults in the 18- to 20-year-old range in a win for the Second Amendment Foundation, or SAF.
The SAF was joined in by the Firearms Policy Coalition, or FPC, the Firearms Policy Foundation, the Calguns Foundation, Poway Weapons and Gear, North County Shooting Center, Beebe Family Arms and Munitions and three private citizens including Matthew Jones, of Jones v. Bonta.
“The panel affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s denial of plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction seeking to enjoin, under the Second Amendment, California’s bans on the sale of long guns and semiautomatic centerfire rifles to anyone under the age of 21,” reads the decision.
“The panel held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in declining to enjoin the requirement that young adults obtain a hunting license to purchase a long gun,” the court said. “But the district court erred in not enjoining an almost total ban on semi-automatic centerfire rifles.”
“We are delighted with the opinion,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “The court majority rightly recognized that delaying the exercise of a right until age 21 does irreparable harm. It also applied strict scrutiny to the semi-auto ban.”
The ruling allows California’s requirement that adults under the age of 21 must first have a hunting permit before buying a long gun, but throws away any bans on long gun ownership, including centerfire semi-automatic rifles.
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“America would not exist without the heroism of the young adults who fought and died in our revolutionary army,” reads the majority opinion. “Today we reaffirm that our Constitution still protects the right that enabled their sacrifice: the right of young adults to keep and bear arms,” and that “the Second Amendment protects the right of young adults to keep and bear arms, which includes the right to purchase them.”
“Today’s decision confirms that peaceable legal adults cannot be prohibited from acquiring firearms and exercising their rights enshrined in the Second Amendment,” said FPC Vice President Adam Kraut. “We are pleased to see progress on this important legal front and optimistic that similar results will come from our many other challenges to age-based bans filed in courts across the United States.”
“Victories like this are made possible by FPC’s members, donors, and supporters, as well as donations to FPC Action Foundation,” said the FPC. “Individuals who would like to join the FPC Grassroots Army to support pro-Second Amendment programs to protect and restore the right to keep and bear arms should visit JoinFPC.org.”
The SAF added that this ruling could have an impact on another case challenging a similar prohibition in Washington State, which is also part of the Ninth Circuit.