Benitez upholds Rhode v. Bonta
Great news for California gun owners: Judge Roger Benitez announced he is upholding CRPA’s challenges in Rhode v. Bonta [18-cv-00802-BEN-JLB]. This case seeks to overturn the state’s restrictions on ammunition purchases.
Rhode v. Bonta (challenging ammunition restrictions) has worked its way up and down the court system for eight years. Along with Duncan v. Bonta, these cases were both at the Ninth Circuit level last year, awaiting the much anticipated Bruen decision by the Supreme Court. Once that decision came down, Rhode and Duncan were both remanded back to the lower courts for supplemental briefing. Our friends at Ammunition Depot joined with CRPA and other individual and company plaintiffs to support this case through all of the legal twists and turns.
Named plaintiff and Olympic champion Kim Rhode celebrated the announcement: “Like I initially stated to Gavin Newsom, ‘always happy to teach you about the guns and ammo you don’t trust me to own.’ I’m happy that the courts agreed with me. Many generations of hunters, outdoorsmen, and Olympians will be able to train and pass on the shooting heritage for many generations. I will never stop fighting for the 2nd Amendment and what I believe to be right and the court’s ruling supports that.
Both cases were intensely watched by Second Amendment advocates buoyed by the announcement of the Bruen decision last summer. Today’s ruling, while the state will most certainly appeal it, represents continued progress in rolling back decades of attacks on the rights of lawful gun owners.
“Today’s ruling represents continued affirmation that the Bruen decision, and Heller before that, represent a sea change in the way courts must look at these absurdly restrictive laws,” stated CRPA President & General Counsel Chuck Michel. “Sure, the state will appeal, but the clock is ticking on laws that violate the Constitution.”
Lead attorney for the Rhode case, Sean Brady of Michel & Associates, noted, “this particular background check system, instituted by California law, was so egregious and over the top that Judge Benitez never faltered in his determinations from his earlier rulings which gave gun owners a win. Today’s ruling reiterates that California’s restrictions on ammunition purchasing are unconstitutional under yet another ruling in our favor and one that is in line with the Supreme Court opinion in Bruen.”
CRPA is proud to stand side by side with plaintiffs like Ammunition Depot, Sam’s Shooter’s Emporium, and Able Ammo in this major challenge to unconstitutional laws in California. It takes this type of collaboration to bring about big wins for gun owners.