Miller v. Bonta challenged a long-standing California ban on so-called assault weapons. Judge Roger T. Benitez (US District Court, Southern California) just told the state that ban is unconstitutional.
The Second Amendment “elevates above all other interests the right of law-abiding, responsible citizens to use arms in defense of hearth and home.” Heller, 554 U.S., at 635. The Supreme Court clearly holds that the Second Amendment protects guns commonly owned by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes. At the same time, “the Second Amendment confers an individual right to keep and bear arms . . . that ‘have some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well-regulated militia.’”
This is California so they will probably appeal. But it is nice to know that even a judge in California sees a Constitution as something that exists to protect the people’s rights from the government and not the other way around.
