October 20, 2017 – Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom and Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence yesterday jointly submitted a friend of the court brief in a case seeking to invalidate Proposition 63’s ban on large capacity ammunition magazines. Lt. Governor Newsom, along with Giffords Law Center, were the authors and principal proponents of Proposition 63, which was overwhelmingly approved by California voters in November 2016. The case, Duncan v. Becerra, seeks to undo the will of California voters and strike down its restrictions on large capacity magazines.“It’s a tragic reality that as time passes, we are presented with more and more evidence on the devastating power of large capacity magazines, which are consistently the accessory of choice in mass shootings for mass murderers,” said Lt. Governor Newsom. “Federal courts have repeatedly upheld bans and restrictions on large capacity magazines and I am confident that the court will ultimately rule that Proposition 63’s ban on the possession large capacity magazines is constitutional.”
“We are confident that the flawed decision to block California’s new limits on large capacity magazines will be quickly overturned,” said Hannah Shearer, Staff Attorney & Second Amendment Litigation Director, Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. “Every other court to have considered magazine regulations, including four federal appeals courts, have rejected similar constitutional arguments and upheld sensible restrictions on these deadly accessories, which have been used in major mass shootings like the massacres at Sandy Hook Elementary, San Bernardino, the Pulse ni...