Poor Gavin Newsom. He’s had a tough month. He’s been working hard to oppress the people of California, and he keeps having to deal with criticism and obstacles.
For example, when he was visiting with Chinese Communist Party bureaucrats (and, maybe, leaders), which he was (rightly) criticized for, he had the terrible misfortune of tacking a child while playing basketball with them (not kidding about that). He was just trying to be friendly, presumably in a bumbling Bill Clinton or Joe Biden kind of way.
Now, his efforts to disarm protect the people of California has been thwarted again in court because of that inconvenience: the U.S. Constitution. Poor guy. Joseph Mackinnon writes,
The Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989 made it such than any firearm on a list specified in the state’s penal code was considered an “assault weapon.” Such firearms became illegal to purchase, keep for sale, offer for sale, expose for sale, give, lend, manufacture, distribute, or import. Additional prohibitions were built atop this act over time.
Benitez previously struck down the ban in 2021, noting, “Like the Swiss Army Knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment. … Yet, the State of California makes it a crime to have an AR-15 type rifle. Therefore, this Court declares the California statutes to be unconstitutional.”
State Attorney General Rob Bonta appealed the ruling and petitioned for a stay. The Ninth Circuit subsequently put a hold on Benitez’s ruling. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 reaffirmation of Americans’ Second Amendment Rights in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, the Ninth Circuit remanded the case back to the federal district court on Aug. 1, 2022.
This week, Benitez ruled on the remanded case.
Mackinnon continues:
In his conclusion, Benitez wrote, “The State’s attempt to ban these popular firearms creates the extreme policy that a handful of criminals can dictate the conduct and infringe on the freedom of law-abiding citizens. … There is only one policy enshrined in the Bill of Rights. Guns and ammunition in the hands of criminals, tyrants and terrorists are dangerous; guns in the hands of law-abiding responsible citizens are necessary.”
Deeming the ban unconstitutional, he struck it down.
Judge Benitez is a hero. This guy is a one-judge wrecking ball to gun control legislation being passed in California. Why? Because that legislation is unconstitutional.
Newsom knows it’s all unconstitutional, and legislators in California know that, too. They just don’t care.
So, I can’t say that I’m upset that Newsom is having a tough few weeks. With policies like he promotes, I’d love for him to have nothing but setbacks and obstacles.
Because it’s the kind of focus on upholding the Constitution that Judge Benitez shows that we need to see more of from both our legislators and our courts in America.
