Gov. Gavin Newsom has responded after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit struck down California’s ammunition background check law, which was passed by voters in 2016.
“Strong gun laws save lives – and today’s decision is a slap in the face to the progress California has made in recent years to keep its communities safer from gun violence. Californians voted to require background checks on ammunition, and their voices should matter,” Newsom said in a statement.
The law requires ammunition buyers to pass a background check like those required for handgun purchases. It is intended to prevent people with criminal records, restraining orders, or court-determined mental health risks from buying ammunition.
The proposals came the year after a 2015 mass shooting in which 14 people were killed during a holiday party at a social services center in San Bernardino.
However, the law has been halted and reinstated multiple times as legal challenges have moved through the federal courts.
In January 2024, a district court judge ruled the law unconstitutional; however, a motions panel of the appeals court quickly issued a stay of that decision while California appealed, as reported by The New York Times.
Thursday’s decision came after about seven years of legal back-and-forth through the courts.