A California law that says people can’t carry guns in most public places starts on January 1. This is true even though the law is still being challenged in court. A U.S. district judge said on December 20 that the law should not go into effect because it goes against the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and takes away people’s right to protect themselves and their families.
The district judge’s decision was put on hold for now by a federal appeals court on Saturday. The law can go into effect while the legal battle goes on because of the appeals court’s ruling. In January and February, lawyers will present their cases to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The law, which was passed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, says that people can’t carry guns in 26 places, such as public parks and playgrounds, churches, banks, and zoos.
No matter if the person has a pass to carry a concealed weapon, they are still not allowed to. There is one exception: privately owned stores that post signs saying that visitors can bring guns with them.
After the appeals court ruled on Saturday, Newsom wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “This ruling will allow our common-sense gun laws to stay in place while we appeal the district court’s dangerous ruling.” “The vast majority of Californians back efforts to keep places like hospitals, libraries, and playgrounds for kids safe and gun-free.”
In order to stop the rule, the California Rifle and Pistol Association went to court. A preliminary order was issued against the law by U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney, who wrote that the law was “sweeping, repugnant to the Second Amendment, and openly defiant of the Supreme Court.” Carney wrote that gun rights groups are likely to be able to show that it is illegal, which would mean that it would be overturned for good.
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The law changes how concealed carry permits work in California because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which made many states rush to make their own laws. In that ruling, it was said that gun laws should be checked to see if they are “consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”
Newsom has said that he will keep trying to get tougher gun laws. Newsom has set himself up as a national leader on gun control, and more and more people are looking at him as a possible presidential candidate. He pushed for and signed many bills, such as ones that make it easier to sue over gun crime, make it harder to track down “ghost guns,” and stop the sale of guns to kids. That law was based on a law in Texas that is against abortion.
Rob Bonta, who is the attorney general of California, appealed Carney’s ruling. The Democrat Bonta said that letting the district judge’s decision to block the law stand “would endanger communities by allowing guns in places where families and children gather.”
A statement from Chuck Michel, head of the California Pistol and Rifle Association, said that gun permit holders “wouldn’t be able to drive across town without passing through a prohibited area and breaking the law.” Michel said that thieves are scared off when law-abiding people can protect themselves.