California officials are pushing back after a federal judge in San Diego overturned the state’s 32-year ban on assault weapons, and in doing so, compared the type of gun to a Swiss Army knife.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A federal judge has overturned California’s three-decade-old ban on assault weapons, calling it a “failed experiment” that violates people s constitutional right to bear arms.
Judge overturns California’s 30-year assault rifle ban as ‘failed experiment’
We’re sorry, this service is currently unavailable. Please try again later.
Dismiss
By Don Thompson
Normal text size
Advertisement
Sacramento: A federal judge has overturned California’s three-decade-old ban on assault weapons, ruling that it violates the constitutional right to bear arms.
US District Judge Roger Benitez of San Diego ruled that the state’s definition of illegal military-style rifles unlawfully deprives law-abiding Californians of weapons commonly allowed in most other states and by the US Supreme Court.
“Under no level of heightened scrutiny can the law survive,” Benitez said. He issued a permanent injunction against enforcement of the law but stayed it for 30 days to give state Attorney General Rob Bonta time to appeal.