March 24, 2023

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Gun News

Federal judge blocks key parts of California handgun law

A federal judge blocked key provisions of a California law that drastically restricts the sale of new handguns in the state, saying parts of the legislation violate the Second Amendment.

A lawsuit challenging the law was filed last year by the California Rifle & Pistol Association and other gun rights supporters following a landmark 2022 decision from the U.S. Supreme Court that set new standards for evaluating firearm restrictions. The ruling left many laws aimed at regulating and limiting the sale and use of guns - in California and nationwide - at risk of being struck down.

U.S. District Court Judge Cormac Carney, sitting in Santa Ana, wrote that California's requirements for new handguns are unconstitutional and cannot be enforced. Because of these restrictions, Carney wrote, no new models of semiautomatic handguns have been approved for sale since 2013 and Californians are forced to buy older and potentially less safe models.

He issued a preliminary injunction to take effect in two weeks, meaning the state would have to stop enforcing the law. The delay gives the state Department of Justice time to appeal.

"The fact of the matter is, California's gun safety laws save lives, and California's Unsafe Handgun Act is no exception," Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. "We will continue to lead efforts to advance and defend California's gun safety laws. As we move forward to determine next steps in this case, Californians should know that this injunction has not gone into effect and that California's important gun safety requirements related to the Unsafe Handgun Act remain in effect."

In California, state law requires new handguns to have three components: A chamber load indicator, which shows whether the gun is loaded; a magazine disconnect mechanism that will stop the gun from firing if the magazine is not properly inserted; and microstamping capability so law enforcement can more easily link spent shell casings to the guns they were fired from.

"No handgun available in the world has all three of these features," the judge wrote. "These regulations are having a devastating impact on Californians' ability to acquire and use new, state-of-the-art handguns."

Older handguns have been grandfathered into what's known as the "roster," or a list of guns that pass a safety test under state law known as the Unsafe Handgun Act.

"Californians have the constitutional right to acquire and use state-of-the-art handguns to protect themselves," he wrote. "They should not be forced to settle for decade-old models of handguns to ensure that they remain safe inside or outside the home."

Previous attempts to challenge the state law, filed before last year's Supreme Court ruling, failed.

Featured Firearm

Uzi - 1954

The Uzi submachine gun was designed by Uziel Gal, an Israel army lieutenant, in 1949. It was officially adopted in 1951 and was first introduced to Israel's army special forces in 1954. Two years later it became the standard issue submachine gun. This weapon was phased out of frontline service with the Israel Defense Force (IDF) in the 1980s and is used only by reserve units. However this submachine gun was so successful, that it had been adopted by more than 90 countries worldwide either for military use or law enforcement forces.

The Uzi is an open bolt, blowback operated submachine gun, chambered for a standard 9x19 mm Parabellum round. Design of the Uzi has been influenced by the British MCEM-2 experimental submachine gun, or Czechoslovak Sa vz.23 submachine gun. Both of these weapons had their magazines housed in their pistol grips.

Did you know?

Machine Gun vs. Submachine Gun

Submachine guns use handgun ammunition. Machine guns use rifle ammunition.

"Sub" comes from Latin, and means to "be under." The term was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an automatic firearm with notably less firepower than a machine gun.

A submachine gun or SMG is a select-fire weapon, either handheld (machine pistols) or shoulder-fired, that fires pistol-caliber rounds. Its primary role was that of a close-quarters weapon; it has since been replaced by short-barreled rifles (carbines) for this purpose.

Generally chambered in a pistol caliber, like 9mm, .40 S&W, or, in the case of the Thompson, the .45 ACP. Most sub-machine guns use a blowback operated action versus a recoil-style system. This means they use a portion of the spent gases generated from the cartridge's ignition to work the action.


Thanks for reading,

The Editor

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