In a united front against California's strict ammunition laws, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador have marshaled a coalition of 25 states. They stand in opposition to the Golden State's aggressive moves to enforce background-check requirements on ammunition purchases, viewing them as an infringement on Second Amendment rights. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost stated, "The right to bear arms includes the right to buy ammunition – and we’re asking the court to once again declare these laws unconstitutional."
At the crux of the debate is California's legislation requiring up to a $19 background check and a time-consuming process, which can span almost a week, for each individual ammunition purchase. These stipulations are particularly troubling to the coalition when applied to the interstate importation of ammunition. Their legal argument rests on the premise that the laws pose an undue barrier to the fundamental right protected under the Second Amendment.
Backing their stance is an amicus brief, urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit to maintain an injunction that would temporarily halt enforcement of these requirements in California. With peculiarly designed restrictions, Californians face hefty fees and long waits simply to exercise what the coalition argues is a constitutional guarantee, suggesting that the state is charging for what should be a natural extension of the right to bear arms.
According to the brief, which two lower courts appear to have echoed, these ammunition measures are not only historically unprecedented but also fail to comply with the historical tradition in the United States. The brief emphatically claims, "California’s ammunition background-check and anti-importation provisions make firearms unusable to California residents unless they buy the state’s renewed permission to reload them every time they run low on ammunition," according to the Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, as if acquiring basic needs was tantamount to an act of defiance against oppressive tactics.
Despite previous rulings deeming the laws as encroaching on constitutional rights by a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit, the state has garnered a rehearing by the full court. The 25-state coalition, encompassing attorneys general from states including Alabama, Texas, and West Virginia, has affixed their names and support to the joint brief — a symbolic gesture representing a broad geographic swath of the nation's legal perspectives on gun ownership and the regulations surrounding it.
