Judge halts California law that would have banned carrying concealed firearms in many public places

Originally Published: 20 DEC 23 22:34 ET Updated: 21 DEC 23 06:10 ET By Nouran Salahieh and Cindy Von Quednow, CNN

(CNN) — A federal judge on Wednesday blocked parts of a California law that would have banned carrying concealed firearms in certain “sensitive places,” including places of worship, public libraries, amusement parks, zoos and sporting events.

California is planning to file an appeal of the decision, Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Wednesday, adding that “the court got this wrong.”

The law, among a series of gun control measures signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom in September, applies to those with licenses to carry a concealed weapon.

US District Judge Cormac Carney granted a preliminary injunction, and indicated that provisions of Senate Bill 2 that were being challenged “unconstitutionally deprive” concealed carry holders of their rights to carry a handgun.

The judge called the coverage of California’s law “sweeping, repugnant to the Second Amendment, and openly defiant of the Supreme Court.”

“SB2 turns nearly every public place in California into a ‘sensitive place,’ effectively abolishing the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding and exceptionally qualified citizens to be armed and to defend themselves in public,” Carney wrote in his order.

Newsom quickly hit back, saying the judge’s decision defies common sense.

“This ruling outrageously calls California’s data-backed gun safety efforts ‘repugnant.’ What is repugnant is this ruling, which greenlights the proliferation of guns in our hospitals, libraries, and children’s playgrounds — spaces, which should be safe for all,” the governor said in a statement to CNN.

“California will keep fighting to defend our laws and to enshrine a Right to Safety in the Constitution. The lives of our kids depend on it,” he added.

When he signed the gun laws in September, Newsom cited shootings across the country that left at least 104 people dead over the 72 hours prior to the signing.

Nationwide there have been 642 mass shootings so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive – including the mass shootings in California’s Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay, which left a total of 18 people dead.

The judge cited a recent landmark Supreme Court decision to justify blocking the sweeping California state law, which had been challenged by the California Rifle and Pistol Association and Gun Owners of America, among other plaintiffs.

That decision, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, changed the framework judges must use to review gun regulations and determined that modern-day laws restricting gun ownership are only constitutional if consistent with the nation’s “historical tradition.”

While assessing various public areas where California’s law prohibited the concealed carry of a firearm, Carney indicated the State of California had not provided a sufficient “historical analogue” to similar laws banning weapons in areas like zoos, museums, libraries and hospitals.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Bonta said Senate Bill 2 does adhere to the guidelines set by the Supreme Court in Bruen.

“If allowed to stand, this decision would endanger communities by allowing guns in places where families and children gather,” said Attorney General Bonta said in a statement. “Guns in sensitive public places do not make our communities safer, but rather the opposite. More guns in more sensitive places makes the public less safe; the data supports it.”

The attorney general noted that the judge’s decision does not address prohibitions on carrying guns in other places not challenged in the lawsuits, including schools, airports and legislative offices. “Those restrictions remain in full effect,” he said.

Gun rights groups quickly celebrated Carney’s decision Wednesday. 

“This is a great day for Californians and human liberty,” said Firearms Policy Coalition President Brandon Combs. “The court’s decision is both well-reasoned and the required result under the Constitution and binding Supreme Court precedent.”

The Supreme Court’s ruling last year in Bruenhas resulted in the blocking of several gun laws at the circuit court level across the country, with cases covering a range of topics including the right of felons to own guns, possessing weapons without serial numbers, the ownership of firearms by individuals subjected to restraining orders, and state assault weapon bans.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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