Judge blocks California law that bans guns in public spaces

On Wednesday, Dec. 20, a federal judge blocked a California law that would ban carrying guns in public places starting on Jan. 1. U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney wrote in his ruling that the law violates the Second Amendment and unconstitutionally deprives people with concealed carry permits of their right to defend themselves and their families. 

The law was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) in September and would have prohibited guns at places like hospitals, public parks, playgrounds, zoos, churches and banks. Judge Carney called the law “repugnant to the Second Amendment and openly defiant of the Supreme Court.”

Carney added in his ruling that the law “turns nearly every public place in California into a ‘sensitive place,’ effectively abolishing the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding and exceptionally qualified citizens to be armed and to defend themselves in public.”

In a statement on Wednesday, Dec. 20, Gov. Newsom hit back in response to the ruling.

“Defying common sense, this ruling outrageously calls California’s data-backed gun safety efforts ‘repugnant,’” Newsom said. “What is repugnant is this ruling, which green lights the proliferation of guns in our hospitals, libraries, and children’s playgrounds — spaces, which should be safe for all.”

Meanwhile, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the state will appeal the judge’s ruling; he added it “would endanger communities by allowing guns in places where families and children gather.”

The preliminary injunction blocks the law while the court case plays out. The California Rifle & Pistol Association filed the lawsuit to block the law arguing it is unconstitutional.

“California progressive politicians refuse to accept the Supreme Court’s mandate from the Bruen case and are trying every creative ploy they can imagine to get around it,” CRPA president Chuck Michel said in a statement. “The Court saw through the State’s gambit.”