LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal appeals court has ruled that California's ban on the sale of semiautomatic weapons to adults under the age of 21 is unconstitutional.
A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Wednesday that the law violates the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms.
The court in a 2-1 ruling says a San Diego judge should have blocked what it called "an almost total ban on semiautomatic centerfire rifles” for young adults.
"America would not exist without the heroism of the young adults who fought and died in our revolutionary army. Today we reaffirm that our Constitution still protects the right that enabled their sacrifice: the right of young adults to keep and bear arms," said Judge Ryan Nelson.
The Firearms Policy Coalition, which brought the case, says the ruling makes it optimistic other age-based gun bans will be overturned.
Attorney General Rob Bonta did not immediately comment.