The panel unanimously reversed the denial by a lower court of a preliminary injunction against the legislative act.
The Golden State stepped into a constitutional minefield when it passed a controversial law prohibiting advertising of any “firearm-related product in a manner that is designed, intended or reasonably appears to be attractive to minors.”
The law was backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who deemed the measure necessary because the U.S. Supreme Court turned back “important gun safety protections.”
District Judge Kenneth K. Lee, writing for the three-judge panel, admonished the state to avoid such an obvious conflict with First Amendment rights.
“California has many tools to address unlawful firearm use and violence among the state’s youth. But it cannot ban truthful ads about lawful firearm use among adults and minors unless it can show that such an intrusion into the First Amendment will significantly further the state’s interest in curtailing unlawful and violent use of firearms by minors.”
Lee continued, noting that the state allows minors to use firearms for hunting, shooting and other legal activities under adult supervision.
The panel added that no evidence was presented that a single unlawful purchase of a firearm was ever made due to an ad or marketing of weapons.
In short, the flimsy foundation of the California law was based on pure speculation. That is not nearly enough to justify infringing on two constitutional liberties enshrined in the Bill of Rights.
The Second Amendment Foundation, which spearheaded the legal challenge, celebrated the win. Founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb declared that “just because politicians in California don’t agree with our pro-gun viewpoint, they have no right to gag us.”
