Jan 31 (Reuters) - California cannot enforce a law requiring people to undergo background checks to buy ammunition, because it violates the constitutional right to bear arms, a federal judge has ruled.
In a decision made public on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez in San Diego said the background checks have "no historical pedigree," and violate the Second Amendment by treating all citizens as having no right to buy ammunition.
"A sweeping background check requirement imposed every time a citizen needs to buy ammunition is an outlier that our ancestors would have never accepted for a citizen," wrote Benitez, an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush.
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/judge-blocks-california-requiring-background-checks-buy-ammunition-2024-01-31/Benitez also criticized California's handling of the more than 1 million annual ammunition background checks, calling the 11% rejection rate "too high."
