A federal appeals court decided Tuesday to uphold California’s ban on large-capacity ammunition magazines in a ruling that is likely to lead to the court’s approval of the state’s ban on assault weapons. “The ban on legal possession of large-capacity magazines reasonably supports California’s effort to reduce the devastating damage wrought by mass shootings,” Judge Susan P. Graber, a Clinton appointee, wrote for the court. Tuesday’s decision indicates that California’s ban on assault weapons, which a lower court had struck down, is also likely to be ruled constitutional. California’s large-capacity magazine ban, approved by voters in 2016, limits possession to magazines that hold 10 or fewer rounds of ammunition. “The ban on large-capacity magazines has the sole practical effect of requiring shooters to pause for a few seconds after firing 10 bullets, to reload or to replace the spent magazine,” Graber wrote.

Source: Los Angeles Times November 30, 2021 19:31 UTC