A California law requiring citizens to submit to a background check every time they purchase ammunition is unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled in a ruling released Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez found that a state law prohibiting California buyers from purchasing and importing ammunition from out-of-state sellers similarly violated federal law.

Mr. Benitez barred the state from enforcing any future laws and rejected requests from California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta's office decided to put his decision on hold while the state appeals to the high court.

Benitez has issued a series of lengthy rulings against California's gun laws in recent years, based in part on the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association. . vs Bruen. The ruling said gun regulations that are not deeply rooted in American history or that resemble historic laws are generally unconstitutional.

“The exhaustive background check requirements imposed every time a citizen needs to purchase ammunition is an outlier that our ancestors never accepted for their citizens,” Benitez wrote.

Benitez also cited 48 historic laws restricting ammunition possession by enslaved people and other racial minorities to try to justify modern-day ammunition restrictions under Bruen. criticized.

“These 50 laws identified by the Attorney General constitute a long, embarrassing, disgusting, insidious and reprehensible list of examples of government oppression against our people,” Benitez wrote. Ta.

Lawyers for the state have not said they support these racially discriminatory laws, and in fact they disavow them, but they say they nevertheless set a historical precedent for the government ammunition restrictions mandated under Bruen. Stated.

Bonta said in a statement Wednesday that his office has appealed Benitez's decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, asking the court to issue a ruling that would halt Benitez's decision from taking effect pending the appeal. He said that

Bonta said the Supreme Court was wrong in Benitez's decision because it was “clear that Bruen did not impose regulatory constraints on the states.”

“These laws were enacted as a way to protect Californians, and they work,” Bonta said. “We will continue to fight for the authority to keep Californians safe. ”

In his statement, Gov. Gavin Newsom called Benitez a “fanatical judge” and cited a previous ruling that Benitez overturned, comparing the state's ban on assault-style weapons in part to knives. . He is also appealing this decision.

“Judge Benitez once again challenged his personal politics and allegiances to a constitutional and common sense gun control advocacy group,” Newsom said. “Firearms with bullets are the number one killer of children in America. The state of California will continue to defend this extremist, illogical and incoherent policy while upholding lifesaving measures that are proven to keep our communities safe.” I will fight against this judgment.”

Chuck Michel, a lawyer for the plaintiffs who sued to invalidate the law, praised Benitez's ruling.

“This law, like most gun control laws in California, does not make anyone safer. It has become more difficult and expensive to enforce Article 2 rights,” Michel said in a statement. “This law prevents many eligible people from getting the ammunition they need. This is the real political intent behind most of these laws.”

California voters first approved Proposition 63 in 2016, a measure that would require citizens to obtain a permit to purchase ammunition every four years. Governor Newsom.

The California Legislature amended the bill under Senate Bill 1235 to require automated background checks for every purchase of ammunition. This rule went into effect in 2019.

Benitez said his decision did not address the four-year permit system approved by voters, only the Legislature's requirement that a background check be conducted and customers pay for every purchase.

“Perhaps the simpler four-year, $50 ammunition purchase permit approved by voters in Proposition 63 would have worked better,” he wrote.

Separately, Benitez said the state's provision prohibiting Californians from purchasing or importing ammunition from other states violates federal business law by giving preferential treatment to companies within California's borders over competitors outside the state. It reiterated an earlier ruling that it violates the law.

Benitez previously overturned California's ban on assault-style weapons and bans on large-capacity ammunition magazines, decisions that the state is also contesting.

Those rulings, and his latest ruling Wednesday, are all part of a series of court decisions overturning gun control measures across the country in the wake of Bruen.