San Diego, Calif. –-(Ammoland.com)- At 5 PM today it will once again be illegal to purchase magazines holding more ten rounds in the state California.
Federal District Court Roger T. Benitez issued a stay in the enforcement of the judgment in the case of Duncan v. Becerra. In that case, the court ruled that the California Magazine ban that dates back to 2000 was unconstitutional and violated the Second Amendment. His decision shocked both sides of the debate.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s office file for an emergency stay against the judge’s ruling until the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals could hear their appeal. Initially, the AG’s office claimed that there was no evidence that magazines were coming into the state. AmmoLand’s reporting disputed this assessment and our research was used as “exhibit one” by the law offices of Michel & Associates, P.C. in their objection to the stay.
One senior officer of an online retailer informed AmmoLand that they had sold over 200,000 magazines virtually selling out of their whole stock. The employee, who was not authorized to talk to the media, said they had people working around the clock to get magazines shipped out to California.
Michel & Associates, P.C. pointed out in their objection that if the judge granted the stay it would turn 1000s of Californians into criminals. These citizens would face severe legal punishment for having newly acquired magazines. These law-abiding citizens would become felons.
The evidence presented by AmmoLand caused AG Becerra to change his course of action in the emergency appeal. His office admitted that magazines were flooding into the state, but he said it was creating “an unacceptable danger to public safety.”
Yesterday the AG Benitez gave the judge until 5 PM to rule on the stay, or his office would go to the left-leaning Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and if the past is any indication then expect the Ninth Circuit Court most likely would issue the stay. The Judge decided to grant the stay until the Ninth Circuit could hear the defendant’s appeal.
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The judge did also issue a second stay on the enforcement of the ban on any magazines that the citizens acquired since Friday. The stay officially goes into effect at 5 PM today leaving people in the state in legal limbo for magazines that are currently in the mail.
Speaking to various attorneys, they stated that people who receive their magazines after the 5 PM should be fine. Unless someone self-reports, it would be almost impossible for law enforcement to determine when the Californian received their magazines. It is also unclear if the stay would even apply to magazines that the citizen ordered before 5 PM but arrived after the deadline.
Some online retailers I spoke to for AmmoLand told me that they are going to be taking orders from California up until 4:55 PM west coast time. Some are seeking legal counsel to determine if they would violate Californian law if they were to ship magazines out to customers in the Golden State after the 5 PM cutoff.
It is unclear on the timeline of the appeal. Both sides have vowed to go all the way to the Supreme Court to decide the case.
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. He is the former CEO of Veritas Firearms, LLC and is the co-host of The Patriot News Podcast which can be found at www.blogtalkradio.com/patriotnews. John has written extensively on the patriot movement including 3%’ers, Oath Keepers, and Militias. In addition to the Patriot movement, John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and is currently working on a book on leftist deplatforming methods and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, on Facebook at realjohncrump, or at www.crumpy.com.