The Fresno Supoerior ruled last week that California's new ammununition regulation law is unconstitutional and blocked futher enforcement. The law – enacted last year as AB 962 banned mail order ammunition sales and required all purchases of handgun ammunition to be registered.
The lawsuit — funded by NRA and the California Rifle and Pistol (CRPA) Foundation as part of a joint Legal Action Project – was prompted in part by the many objections and questions raised by confused police, ammunition purchasers, and sellers about what ammunition is covered by the new law. Plaintiffs in the case include Tehama County Sheriff Clay Parker, the CRPA Foundation, Herb Bauer Sporting Goods, ammunition shipper Able’s Ammo, collectible ammunition shipper RTG Sporting Collectibles, and individual Steven Stonecipher. Mendocino Sheriff Tom Allman also supported the lawsuit.
The ruling comes just days before the ban on mail order sales of handgun ammunition was set to take effect. Many of the nation’s largest mail-order and on-line ammunition retailers had already announced that they would soon end sales to California residents, according to the NRA. If the law had gone into effect, it would have required that handgun ammunition be stored out of the reach of customers, that ammunition vendors collect ammunition sales registration information and thumbprints from purchasers, and that vendors conduct transactions face-to-face for all deliveries and transfers of handgun ammunition.
The court ruled that AB 962 is unconstitutionally vague on its face because it fails to provide sufficient legal notice of what ammunition cartridges are “principally for use in a handgun,” and therefore regulated as handgun ammunition under AB 962. The NRA said the law gives no explanation of how to determine what cartridges are “principally for use in” handguns.
The state is likely to appeal the ruling and the NRA said anti-gun lawmakers in Sacramento will “undoubtedly try again to destroy lawful ammunition sales in California.”
