It would impose a 10% tax on the sales price of handguns and an 11% tax on the sales price of rifles, precursor parts and ammunition, using the money for gun violence prevention and recovery programs. The bill requires a two-thirds vote because it would raise taxes, and last week it failed to muster enough votes. Their move was backed earlier by 10 Democratic state lawmakers who said the restrictions help control gun violence.ĭemocrats who control the state Assembly on Thursday revived for future consideration a bill that would raise taxes on the sale of guns and ammunition. Bonta took office in April to fill a vacancy and faces several more conservative challengers in next year’s election. The governor likely faces a recall election this fall largely driven by his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Newsom and Bonta, both Democrats, are longtime supporters of what they term commonsense gun restrictions. “The State’s desire to continue imposing its ban should not be allowed to prevail over the fundamental rights of law-abiding gun owners,” the group said. It had argued in part that assault weapons are no more deadly than some other weapons that are not banned by the state. The Firearms Policy Coalition said it will oppose any stay of Benitez’ order. Gun owners’ rights groups have made no secret of their effort to get firearms restrictions before the nation’s high court. “This is a very focused agenda to work through this judge, where the decision’s already made before it’s even presented, who writes ‘press releases’ on behalf of the gun lobby.” He will continue to do damage, mark my word,” Newsom said. The state already is appealing the same judge’s 2017 ruling against the state’s nearly two-decade-old ban on the sales and purchases of magazines holding more than 10 bullets, and his ruling last year blocking a 2019 California law requiring background checks for anyone buying ammunition. He is a wholly owned subsidiary of the gun lobby of the National Rifle Association.” Gavin Newsom, the son of a judge, denounced Benitez as “a stone cold ideologue. District Judge Roger Benitez as an outlier that conflicts with at least six other federal decisions upholding assault weapons laws in California and elsewhere, a ruling that is designed to get the issue before a recently more conservative U.S. 'Like the Swiss Army Knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense. They described last week’s ruling by U.S. Benitez issued a permanent injunction Friday so the law cannot be enforced. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.Ĭalifornia’s governor denounced in starkly personal terms a federal judge’s upending of the state’s restrictions on assault weapons as officials announced the filing Thursday of a formal notice that they will appeal the decision. Those arms are dangerous and solely useful for military purposes,” reads his ruling, which gun-rights activists celebrated.This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. The banned ‘assault weapons’ are not bazookas, howitzers, or machine guns. “This case is not about extraordinary weapons lying at the outer limits of Second Amendment protection. Benitez is an excellent example of a judge who interprets the US Constitution as the framers meant it. The state had argued that overturning the ban on assault rifles would open the door to lots of weapons of war. “There is no sound basis in law, fact, or common sense for equating assault rifles with swiss army knives,” Bonta said. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the ruling “is fundamentally flawed” and vowed that it will be appealed.

“I grew up with deep respect for the judicial process and the importance of a judge’s ability to make impartial fact-based rulings, but the fact that this judge compared the AR-15-a weapon of war that’s used on the battlefield-to a Swiss Army Knife completely undermines the credibility of this decision and is a slap in the face to the families who’ve lost loved ones to this weapon,” Newsom said in a statement. Gavin Newsom quickly criticized the ruling, taking particular issue at the way the judge likened the Swiss Army Knife to the AR-15. This is how San Diego-based federal Judge Roger Benitez the gun lobby’s best friend in recent years began his opinion: Like the Swiss Army Knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect. John Roberts Can’t Admit What’s Happened to the Supreme CourtĬalifornia Gov. The Perverse, Potentially Lethal Consequences of Lindsey Graham’s Federal Abortion Ban Roberts and Kavanaugh Issue a Surprise Warning Shot to Conservative Lawyers Mary Trump on How Her Uncle Keeps Getting Away With It

Roger benitez