Ninth Circuit Ruling Challenges California’s Ammunition Background Checks

The Ninth Circuit decided on Thursday that requiring background checks for Californians purchasing bullets violates the Second Amendment, effectively undermining a 2016 voter initiative designed to reinforce the state’s strict gun regulations.

Judge Sandra Segal Ikta, representing two of the three judges on the panel, argued that the law places an unnecessary constraint on constitutional rights by necessitating re-approval for ammunition buyers each time they make a purchase.

“The right to possess and use weapons encompasses the right to obtain ammunition,” she commented.

This ruling represents another setback for efforts to control firearms within the state.

In recent years, both the Ninth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court have imposed significant limitations on gun control initiatives. Ikta referenced two management cases from the last three years to support her decision.

The ruling is closely tied to a 2022 Supreme Court verdict, which indicated that state-level gun control measures must align with longstanding national traditions of firearm regulation.

California attempted to sidestep this challenge by referencing historical loyalty oaths from the Reconstruction era while suggesting that certain individuals must demonstrate a commitment to the country before purchasing firearms.

However, the three-judge panel found this argument unconvincing.

Ikta wrote, “The requirement for citizens to affirm their loyalty to the United States does not equate to the background check regulations imposed on ammunition buyers in California. They are not related.”

Judge Jay Bybee expressed a differing opinion.

“California has been running this program since 2019, showing that most checks take less than a minute and cost a dollar,” he countered. “Most of this decision contradicts our established precedent and the Supreme Court’s directions.”

According to data from the California Department of Justice’s Firearms Bureau, 89% of purchases have been approved under the program, with most approvals occurring within approximately three minutes. The technology has led to less than 1% being rejected, with the remainder banned from purchasing.

The 2022 Supreme Court case hinted at a transformed landscape for Second Amendment law but didn’t outright discard background checking requirements for ammunition purchases.

Bybee noted, “We have continually rejected expansive interpretations of the Second Amendment’s provisions. It’s hard to envision regulations regarding ammunition or firearm acquisition that do not impose some constraints on the right to bear arms under the new broad application standards set forth by the majority.”

It remains uncertain whether this ruling will have lasting effects over the past six years, and California officials have yet to announce if they will appeal the decision.

Gun rights advocates celebrated the ruling.

“Today’s decision is a remarkable advancement for the Second Amendment and the rights of law-abiding citizens,” stated Dan Walgin, CEO of Ammunition Depot, one of the case’s plaintiffs.