California’s Large-Capacity Ban Declared Constitutional: Attorney General Bonta Celebrates Important Win for Firearm Safety

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a statement after an en banc panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed that California’s large-capacity magazine ban does not violate the Second Amendment. Large-capacity magazines are firearm magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition, and are frequently used in high-casualty mass shootings because they allow a shooter to fire a large number of rounds without pausing to reload. 

“Today, the court found that California’s ban on large-capacity magazines does not violate the Second Amendment. California’s ban on large-capacity magazines has been a key component in our efforts to fight gun violence and prevent senseless injuries and deaths and the devastation of communities and families that are left behind in the wake of mass shootings,” said Attorney General Bonta. “This commonsense restriction on how many rounds a gunman can fire before they must pause to reload has been identified as a critical intervention to limit a lone shooter’s capacity to turn shootings into mass casualty attacks. Let me be clear, this law saves lives. Today’s ruling is an important win — not only in this case, but in our broader efforts to protect California communities from gun violence.”

A copy of the court order and opinion can be found here and here.