In a massive win for the Second Amendment, a federal appeals court just delivered a stinging rebuke to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s anti-gun agenda. On Thursday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided 2-1 that California’s law forcing background checks for ammunition purchases is unconstitutional, handing gun owners a long-awaited victory.
Newsom, a Democrat with national ambitions, erupted after the decision, calling it “a slap in the face.” But for millions of law-abiding Americans, it’s a powerful reminder that the Constitution still stands—even in liberal California.
Passed by voters in 2016 and championed by Newsom while he was lieutenant governor, the law forced gun owners to pay $50 for a four-year ammunition permit and submit to a background check every time they bought ammo.
But Judge Sandra Ikuta, writing for the majority, made it clear: the law violates the Second Amendment. “The ammunition background check regime meaningfully constrains the right to keep and bear arms,” she wrote, emphasizing that citizens should not need repeated government permission just to exercise their basic rights.
Judge Bridget Bade agreed. Only Judge Jay Bybee dissented.
The court based its ruling on the landmark 2022 Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which established that gun control laws must be rooted in America’s historical traditions—not modern politics.
And that’s where California’s law fell apart.
Despite Newsom’s team citing obscure laws from the post-Civil War era and colonial times, the court found no historical equivalent to justify restricting ammunition sales with modern-day background checks.
“The state failed to provide any historical laws that support this kind of modern restriction,” the court wrote. In short, California’s law does not pass constitutional scrutiny.
Newsom, clearly frustrated, claimed the ruling endangers lives. But critics say it’s his policies—not the Constitution—that put citizens at risk by disarming responsible gun owners while criminals ignore the law.
Gun rights advocates across the country celebrated the decision as a turning point in the fight against overreaching gun control laws. With more federal judges following the Constitution, many believe this is just the beginning of a broader rollback of radical anti-Second Amendment policies in blue states.
This decision is a clear message: the right to bear arms isn’t up for negotiation, no matter how hard politicians like Newsom try to chip away at it.