In a significant victory for Second Amendment civil rights in California, a federal judge rule this week the state's 10-day waiting period for firearms purchases is unconstitutional.
The laws were challenged by California gun owners Jeffrey Silvester and Brandon Combs, as well as The Calguns Foundation and Second Amendment Foundation.
In the decision issued Aug. 25, Federal Eastern District of California Senior Judge Anthony W. Ishii, appointed to the bench by President Bill Clinton, found that "the 10-day waiting periods of Penal Code [sections 26815(a) and 27540(a)] violate the Second Amendment" as applied to members of certain classifications, like Silvester and Combs, and "burdens the Second Amendment rights of the Plaintiffs."
Combs, who serves as the executive director of the Calguns Foundation, said the decision by Senior Judge Ishii proves "California gun owners are not second-class citizens and the Second Amendment isn't a second-class right." He said the decision lays the strong foundation from which "other irrational and unconstitutional gun control laws" will be challenged. And, he says, "We look forward to doing just that."
The court order mandates the California Department of Justice (DOJ) to change its systems to accommodate the "unobstructed release" of guns to gun buyers who pass a background check and possess a California license to carry a handgun, or who hold a Department of Justice-issued "Certificate of Eligibility" and already possess at least one firearm known to the state.
Silvester called the decision "a great win for the Second Amendment civil rights and common sense," adding, he "couldn't be happier with how this case turned out."
