LOS ANGELES (AP) — A new California law that bans people from carrying firearms in most public places was once again blocked from taking effect Saturday as a court case challenging it continues.
A 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel dissolved a temporary hold on a lower court injunction blocking the law. The hold was issued by a different 9th Circuit panel and had allowed the law to go into effect Jan. 1.
Saturday’s decision keeps in place a Dec. 20 ruling by U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney blocking the law. Carney said that it violates the Second Amendment and that gun rights groups would likely prevail in proving it unconstitutional.
The law, signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, prohibits people from carrying concealed guns in 26 types of places including public parks and playgrounds, churches, banks and zoos. The ban applies regardless of whether a person has a concealed carry permit.
These kinds of laws are already in effect in Chicago. Guns come in freely via Indiana where it’s constitutional carry, plus other means. It turns out that banning guns only means that law abiding citizens — which as the above commenter pointed out, statistically almost never use their weapons criminally — stop carrying and criminals have carte blanche to go target practicing on defenseless meat bags.
CA is a massive state, and I’m sure it has plenty of weapons. Criminals aren’t going to magically stop committing gun crime because of a stupid law, and if anything it will only embolden them as they’re less likely to encounter a CC citizen. Guns will continue to flow in via NV, AZ, and Mexico.