Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney granted a preliminary injunction blocking a law Governor Gavin Newsom (D) signed in September just before it was to take effect. It would have prohibited people – even those with a concealed carry permit – from carrying concealed guns in 26 public places, including parks and playgrounds, churches, banks, and zoos.
Noting the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, Judge Carney wrote that California's new law was "sweeping, repugnant to the Second Amendment, and openly defiant of the Supreme Court."
Mike Hammond, legislative council to Gun Owners of America (GOA), agrees.
"California grossly limits your right to protect yourself in public, and that's not constitutionally permissible under the Supreme Court's decision," Hammond submits. "So, it's no surprise, but it is gratifying that a California court decided to follow the law."
Newsom's law will be blocked while the court case against it proceeds, and Judge Carney believes gun rights groups will successfully prove it unconstitutional, meaning it will likely be permanently overturned.
"To get a preliminary injunction, you need a probability of success on the merits," Hammond explains. "The judge has already found that the litigants will probably prevail on the merits, so, a preliminary injunction and a temporary restraining order are a pretty good indication that the judge is thinking that the pro-gun litigants are going to win."
Chuck Michel, president of the California Rifle and Pistol Association, which sued to block the law, says the judge's decision makes Californians safer because criminals are deterred when law-abiding citizens can defend themselves. But state Attorney General Rob Bonta, whose office plans to appeal the decision, claims it endangers communities "by allowing guns in places where families and children gather."
