Indiana AG joins amicus brief opposing California gun law

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has signed on to an amicus brief opposing a California law that limits the amount of ammunition a firearm magazine can hold to 10 or fewer rounds.

Rokita’s office announced Wednesday that he is joining attorneys general from 22 other states in asking the Supreme Court of the United States to hear the case regarding California Penal Code 32310.

The amicus brief is in response to a 2021 ruling from the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals, which found the state law, passed in 2016, does not interfere with constitutional rights.

“When courts allow these kinds of restrictive laws to stand, it creates a dangerous precedent that jeopardizes the rights of law-abiding gun owners nationwide, including in Indiana,” Rokita said in a news release.

The brief contends the 9^th Circuit utilized an erroneous construction of the U.S. Constitution, “thereby allowing the Second Amendment rights of millions of citizens to be compromised.”

Attorneys general argue the California law “criminalizes mere possession of commonly-used arms even in the home for self-defense, and therefore the law strikes at the core of the Second Amendment”

In a statement, Rokita said states have no authority to limit ownership of firearms to those capable of firing 10 times or fewer before reloading.

“The purpose of the Second Amendment is not to ensure opportunities for hunting or target practice,” Rokita said. “Rather, the purpose of the Second Amendment is to enable law-abiding Americans to protect their lives, liberty and property against all threats — whether posed by individual intruders breaking into homes or marauding armies trying to take over communities.”

The amicus brief in Duncan, et al. v. Bonta, et al., 21-1194, comes weeks after the Indiana General Assembly passed, and Gov. Eric Holcomb signed, legislation removing the requirement for open carry permits for handguns.