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Appeals Court Shoots Down California's Latest Attempt to Limit Gun Rights

AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar

California is certainly no fan of gun rights, especially when it comes to young adults.

The state is finally getting a taste of its own medicine in the judicial system, which thankfully is holding it accountable for some of its barricades to freedom.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled 2-1 on Wednesday that the California law which banned those under 21 from purchasing semiautomatic weapons is unconstitutional, the Associated Press reported. The court also said that a lower court in San Diego should have shot down the law sooner.

“America would not exist without the heroism of the young adults who fought and died in our revolutionary army,” Judge Ryan Nelson said, according to the outlet.

“Today we reaffirm that our Constitution still protects the right that enabled their sacrifice: the right of young adults to keep and bear arms.”

While the Ninth Circuit used to be considered reliably liberal, its shift to the right is one of the lasting legacies of the Trump administration, the Los Angeles Times reported in 2020. His judicial legacy is one of the few things that conservatives of all stripes can agree was an effective part of his administration, regardless of what anyone thought of him in particular. Judges have an impact far beyond the scope of just the federal government, and Americans are seeing that play out with this ruling involving California state law.

The Firearms Policy Coalition deserves a share of the credit for taking the case to court in the first place. If it weren’t for groups like the FPC putting legal scrutiny on states that rarely consider a dissenting opinion, the United States would look a lot different.

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