California ammunition background checks to resume after 9th Circuit pauses court order

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9TH CIRCUIT PUTS AMMO RULING ON HOLD

California gun owners will once again be required to submit to background checks when buying ammunition, after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay on the ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Roger Benitez, who issued a permanent injunction against it.

The judge’s ruling prompted a surge in ammunition purchases in the state, as gun owners sought to take advantage of it.

The ruling by Benitez prompted California Gov. Gavin Newsom to issue a statement calling him a “fanatic judge who previously compared military-style assault weapons to Swiss Army Knives.”

“Like clockwork, Judge Benitez has yet again put his personal politics and fealty for the gun lobby over the Constitution and common sense,” Newsom said. “Guns — with bullets — are the number one killer of children in America. California will fight this extremist, illogical, and incoherent ruling as we defend our live-saving measures that are proven to keep our communities safe.”

And as Newsom said, California Attorney General Rob Bonta had appealed the ruling and sought the stay.

“California’s life-saving ammunition laws will remain in effect as we continue to defend them in court. With the proliferation of self-assembled, fully-functional, and unserialized ‘ghost guns’, these ammunition laws serve as a backstop to the use of firearms by prohibited persons,” Bonta said in a statement Tuesday.

The 9th Circuit’s order was brief, but it wasn’t unanimous. Circuit Court Judge Consuelo Callahan, a President George W. Bush appointee, wrote a dissent saying she would have denied the appeal. “I do not believe (Bonta) has met his burden of showing a likelihood of success on the merits or that irreparable injury will occur absent a stay.,” she said.

The California Rifle and Pistol Association, which is challenging the law on behalf of plaintiff (and Olympic shooter) Kim Rhode, in a statement Monday evening said that “in just a sentence, the 9th Circuit wiped out the lengthy, well reasoned ruling issued by Judge Benitez negating the state’s onerous restrictions on ammunition purchases.”

BILL TO CLEAR HOMELESS CAMPS UNVEILED

Via Lindsey Holden...

A Republican lawmaker is bringing back a bill that would prohibit homeless encampments in close proximity to certain “sensitive areas.”

Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, R-Santee, on Tuesday said he is introducing Senate Bill 1011, which bans people from sleeping, sitting, lying or storing property within 500 feet of schools, open spaces or major transit stops.

Law enforcement would be required to give unhoused people staying in these spaces a 72-hour notice to leave, which would need to include information about shelters, other places to sleep and mental health services.

Most of the lawmakers supporting the measure are Republicans, but Sen. Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas, is a principal co-author. Two other Democrats, Sen. Bill Dodd of Napa and Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil of Jackson, are also backing the legislation.

Jones said the bill “strikes the appropriate balance between accountability and compassion.” It’s very similar to a bill he authored last year, although this one reduces the prohibited distance to 500 feet, rather than 1,000 feet.

That bill failed in the Senate Public Safety Committee in March 2023. Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco took issue with state lawmakers pushing such rules on cities.

“There are decisions that are most appropriately made at the state level, there are decisions that are appropriately made at the local level,” Wiener said during the 2023 hearing. “I think this is one where cities have the tools to make these rules.”

Jones said he thinks the state has spent billions of dollars to address homelessness with little success. He hopes this bill would get unhoused people “into the programs that we need to get them in and help them get them on a pathway out, which will save the local governments a lot of money.”

The U.S. Supreme Court could soon determine the legality of California encampment-clearing laws and ordinances. In January, the court announced it would hear a case that will determine whether cities can block unhoused people from camping on public property if there is no available shelter.

A 2018 ruling by the federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals currently makes that illegal, although Newsom and other leaders have become increasingly vocal about their frustration with that decision. When asked about the pending case, Jones said, “we’re not going to wait.”

“We’re going to start moving the ball in California on a solution that we think makes sense,” he said.

SELECT COMMITTEE TO HOLD WEHO HEARING

The Assembly Public Safety Committee and the Assembly Select Committee on Retail Theft are set to hold a joint hearing Friday to discuss retail theft in California and explore solutions for addressing retail crime in the state.

The hearing will be held in Select Committee Chair Rick Chavez Zbur’s West Hollywood district, and will also address the problem of fencing and reselling of stolen goods.

Zbur said in a statement that the current situation is unacceptable.

“Many of us have seen the footage of stores being emptied—and have experienced the inconvenience of having to call somebody over to unlock everyday items.

“Businesses fear for their livelihood and employees are concerned for their safety—and members of the public worry it may no longer be safe to frequent their neighborhood stores. We must hold professional criminals accountable and shut down distribution channels and fencing operations for stolen goods,” he said.

However, Zbur cautioned that lawmakers must also “learn from the mistakes of the past” and address the problem without undoing criminal justice reforms “that have made our communities safer.”

Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, who chairs the Assembly Public Safety Committee, said in a statement that “it’s crucial we reassess our public safety laws to ensure repeat offenders are held accountable for their conduct.”

This is the second hearing held by the select committee, which Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas assembled last year.

QUOTES OF THE DAY

“HIV continues to take a huge toll on public health in California, and SB 339 unlocks a powerful tool to prevent new infections. PrEP is nearly 100% effective at preventing HIV transmission, but far too many Californians lack access to it. Allowing people to obtain this powerful anti-HIV tool at their neighborhood pharmacy will greatly expand access and is a big step toward a future free from new HIV cases.”

- Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, in a statement after Newsom signed his bill, SB 339, into law making it easier for people to access the HIV prevention medication. SB 339 is the first bill to be signed into law this year.

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