California’s 10-Round Magazine Limit is Unconstitutional, a Federal Judge Rules (Again)

September 25, 2023

“There is no American tradition of limiting ammunition capacity,” U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez says, calling the state’s cap “arbitrary,” “capricious,” and “extreme.”

by Jacob Sullum Reason.com

Last year in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned that state’s restrictions on public possession of handguns for self-defense. A week later, the Court vacated four appeals court decisions upholding state gun control laws and remanded the cases for further consideration in light of Bruen. One of those cases, Duncan v. Bonta, involved California’s ban on magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, which a federal judge deemed unconstitutional in a decision published on Friday.

“There is no American history or tradition of regulating firearms based on the number of rounds they can shoot, or of regulating the amount of ammunition that can be kept and carried,” writes Roger Benitez, a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.