Attorney General Labrador Leads Nationwide Fight Against California’s Unconstitutional Assault Weapons Ban

BOISE – Attorney General Raúl Labrador led a coalition of 27 states in filing an Amicus Curiae brief in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in support of the Second Amendment, asking the Court to affirm the lower court’s decision to enjoin California’s unconstitutional Assault Weapons Control Act (AWCA) in Miller v. Bonta.

For 34 years, the AWCA has deprived Californians of their Second Amendment rights through arbitrary and often cosmetic-based bans on the ownership, possession, sale, and transfer of hundreds of firearm types. These firearms were legal before the ban, and are still in lawful, common use across the nation. The Supreme Court’s decisions in Bruen and Heller have confirmed that every American has a pre-existing right to keep and bear arms, and the plain text of the Second Amendment protects weapons California bans.

The impact of California’s ACWA has also extended beyond its borders—unjustly impacting citizens and firearm businesses in Amici states and across the nation who are barred from exercising their rights to engage in lawful related commerce with California.

“For decades, California has failed its people in the state’s duty to protect—not infringe on—its citizens’ Constitutional right to keep and bear arms,” said Attorney General Labrador. “This is a fundamental liberty and right of the individual. It is not granted or tolerated by the whim or benevolence of the government, and it must be respected and defended at every turn. “Shall not be infringed” is some of the clearest language in our Constitution, and we look forward to seeing the AWCA overturned by the courts.”

The State coalition, led by Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, and Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen was joined by Attorneys General from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming, and the Arizona State Legislature.