LOS ANGELES – A California law banning people from carrying firearms in most public places will take effect on New Year’s Day, even as a court case continues to challenge the law.
A US district judge issued a ruling on December 20 to block the law from taking effect, saying it violates the Second Amendment of the Constitution and deprives people of their ability to defend themselves and their loved ones.
But on Saturday, a federal appeals court temporarily stayed the district judge’s ruling.
The appeals court decision allows the law to take effect while the legal fight continues.
The attorneys are scheduled to present their arguments before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in January and February.
The law, signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, prohibits people from carrying concealed weapons in 26 places, including public parks and playgrounds, churches, banks and zoos.
The ban applies regardless of whether the person has a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
One exception is private businesses that post signs saying people can bring guns onto their facilities.
A California law banning the carrying of firearms in most public places will go into effect on New Year’s Day. AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File
“This ruling will allow our common sense gun laws to remain in place while we appeal the district court’s dangerous ruling.” Newsom posted on X, formerly Twitter, after the appeals court acted on Saturday. “Californians overwhelmingly support efforts to ensure places like hospitals, libraries and playgrounds remain safe and gun-free.”
The California Rifle and Pistol Association sued to block the law. When U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney granted a preliminary injunction blocking the law, he wrote that the law was “broad, repugnant to the Second Amendment, and openly defiant of the Supreme Court.”
Carney wrote that gun rights groups are likely to be able to prove it is unconstitutional, meaning it would be permanently repealed.
The law revises California’s rules for concealed carry permits in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which caused several states to rush to react with their own laws.
That decision said the constitutionality of firearms laws must be evaluated based on whether they are “consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearms regulation.”
Newsom has said he will continue to push for stricter gun measures.
Newsom has positioned himself as a national leader on gun control, while he is increasingly viewed as a possible presidential candidate. He has called for and signed a variety of bills, including measures targeting untraceable “ghost guns,” the marketing of firearms to children and allowing people to file gun violence lawsuits. That legislation was based on a Texas anti-abortion law.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta appealed Carney’s decision. Bonta, a Democrat, said that if the district judge’s ruling to block the law were allowed to stand, it would “endanger communities by allowing guns in places where families and children gather.”
California Rifle and Pistol Association President Chuck Michel said in a statement that under the law, gun permit holders “could not drive through the city without passing through a prohibited area and violating the law.” . Michel said criminals are deterred when law-abiding citizens can defend themselves.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn