Federal court reconsiders CA's ban on high-capacity magazines.

A district court judge overturned California's ban on assault weapons earlier this month

The ongoing battle over gun control is coming to a fever pitch in California as the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals convened on Tuesday to hear arguments about the state's ban of high-capacity magazines that hold more than 10 bullets.

The eventual decision by the 11-judge panel will impact other pending lawsuits in the state, including a recent ruling by a federal judge in San Diego that struck down California's three-decade-old ban on assault weapons.

At Tuesday's hour-long hearing, Deputy Solicitor General Sam Siegel argued that while the second amendment protects an individual's right to keep and bear arms, states can also adopt "reasonable gun safety regulations."

"California’s [large capacity magazine] restriction is one such measure," Siegel told the 9th Circuit.

"Evidence demonstrates that when [large capacity magazines] are used in mass shootings, the number of people injured and killed is greater than when they’re not," Siegel continued. "The record also demonstrates that [large capacity magazines] are used at a disproportionate rate in the murder of law enforcement."

Erin Murphy, who is representing the California Rifle & Pistol Association in the case, argued that it is unconstitutional for the government to restrict the magazine capacity of firearms.

"What we’re talking about here are magazines that are commonly possessed all throughout the country, are legal in 41 out of the 50 states," Murphy told the panel.

"They are possessed for law-abiding purposes like self-defense and there’s no historical tradition in this country of having the sort of restrictions the state has in mind here of telling people there’s a certain amount of firepower or capacity that's appropriate for them to possess."

California has prohibited the buying and selling of large-capacity magazines since 2000, but allowed people who already had them to keep them. In 2016, voters in the state took things a step further and passed a bill that banned them altogether.

San Diego-based U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez then ruled that the ban was unconstitutional in 2019, and a 3-judge panel on the 9th Circuit upheld that ruling last August.

It is unclear how the 11-judge panel that convened Tuesday will rule on the matter, but the California Rifle & Pistol Association noted that 7 of the 11 judges were appointed by Democratic presidents.

 In a separate case earlier this month, Judge Benitez overturned California's 32-year ban on assault weapons, arguing that an AR-15 is like a Swiss Army knife in that it is "a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment."

On Monday, the 9th Circuit temporarily blocked Judge Benitez's ruling on the assault weapon ban until the high capacity magazine case is settled. 

(photo credit: nicholasmorganphotography.com)