Last week, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled California’s ban on “high capacity” magazines violates the Second Amendment. The 2 to 1 decision in Duncan v. Becerra was cause for much celebration here and throughout the gun community.
However, as reader, contributor and attorney LKB pointed out, the decision didn’t lift the injunction in place that blocks the sale of standard capacity magazines until the case is finally decided . . .
The stay against enforcement of the injunction continues until the mandate (the official instructions from the court) issues. The mandate won’t issue until there has been a ruling on the all-but-certain motion for en banc rehearing. And as the Hawaii open carry case demonstrates, CTA9 is perfectly willing to sit on such requests for, quite literally, years.
Nevertheless, many retailers almost immediately began taking orders again and shipping what California calls large capacity magazines (LCMs) into the Golden State.
As a result, the National Shooting Sports Foundation issued the following caution this morning regarding those sales:
We have been asked by California retailers, distributors and ammunition magazine manufacturers across the industry whether Friday’s landmark decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in Duncan v. Becerra means they can now sell to California consumers, ship to California retailers or manufacture in the state for commercial sale in the state ammunition magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition (so-called “Large Capacity Magazines” or LCM). The short answer is “NO.”
While the holding in Duncan is a tremendous victory for the Second Amendment, members of the industry should continue to refrain from selling or shipping into California LCMs until after the appeal proceeding is concluded or the stay is modified or lifted. This is because the U.S. District Court’s Order Staying In Part Judgment Pending Appeal, dated April 4, 2019, remains in effect “pending final resolution of the appeal from the Judgment.” The appellate proceedings have not concluded or been finally resolved, so the stay remains in place.
Stay tuned. NSSF will update you on developments, including when the appeal is over and you can sell standard-sized magazines in California.