Gov. Newsom’s livid after 9th Circuit court axes state’s ammo law

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is not too happy about a recent federal court decision that struck down a state law requiring gun owners to undergo background checks before buying ammunition. 

Newsom, according to Newsmax, responded to the court’s decision with a statement expressing his displeasure with the outcome.

Before we get to that, though, we will take a look at the case itself as well as the recent court ruling.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is fuming after a federal court ruled his state’s law requiring gun owners to undergo background checks to buy ammunition is unconstitutional. MORE: https://t.co/hpgHndHYAz pic.twitter.com/T67GXNqqxS

— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) July 26, 2025

Background

A local NBC outlet reports that the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals released its decision on the matter on Thursday.

Per the outlet:

Thursday’s ruling stems from a lawsuit brought in San Diego by a coalition of gun owners and gun rights groups that alleged the law infringed on the Second Amendment rights of California residents, while the California Attorney General’s Office argued the law was a safety measure that prevented people who shouldn’t have firearms and ammunition from obtaining them.

The law, according to the outlet, “requir[es]background checks for people purchasing ammunition.”

The court determined that the law was unconstitutional.

The outlet reports:

In Thursday’s ruling, which upheld Benitez’s permanent injunction blocking the law, Judge Sandra Ikuta wrote in the majority opinion that California’s background check requirement was not consistent with the country’s historical traditions of firearm regulation, a finding that reflects a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision that said firearm cases should be evaluated based on how other firearm cases have been decided historically.

Newsom weighs in

Newsom was quick to respond to the court’s ruling with a statement condemning it.

He wrote:

Strong gun laws save lives – and today’s decision is a slap in the face to the progress California has made in recent years to keep its communities safer from gun violence. Californians voted to require background checks on ammunition, and their voices should matter.

Further details on the law have been provided by a local Fox affiliate.

It reports:

The proposals came the year after a 2015 mass shooting in which 14 people were killed during a holiday party at a social services center in San Bernardino. However, the law has been halted and reinstated multiple times as legal challenges have moved through the federal courts.

The outlet adds, “Thursday’s decision came after about seven years of legal back-and-forth through the courts.”

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