Judge blocks effort to halt California law barring young people from buying long guns

A pair of California laws barring 18-to 20-year-olds from buying certain kinds of long guns and centerfire rifles will remain in effect as the legal challenge against them proceeds, a federal judge ruled.

U.S. District Court Judge M. James Lorenz issued the order barring a preliminary injunction against Senate Bill 1100 (2018) and Senate Bill 61 (2019).

“Plaintiffs have not established likelihood of success on the merits of their claims or likelihood of irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief,” the judge wrote in the ruling.

The judge added that the state has presented “persuasive expert evidence” on the threat of gun violence perpetrated by people between 18 and 20 years of age.

“Since 2020, 18-to-20-year-olds have been involved in several mass shootings. Those shootings have led to the deaths of dozens of children and adults, including the May 2022 shootings at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas (21 killed), a supermarket in Buffalo, New York (10 killed), and the April 2021 shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, Indiana (8 killed),” the judge wrote.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta hailed the judge’s ruling in a statement Tuesday, calling it “an important step forward in the fight against gun violence.”

“We will continue to lead efforts to defend California’s commonsense gun-safety laws. As we move forward on the merits in this case, Californians should know that licensed firearms dealers are still prohibited from selling, supplying, delivering or giving possession or control of certain long guns and semiautomatic centerfire rifles to 18- to 20-year-olds,” Bonta said.

The Bee has reached out to the Firearms Policy Coalition, one of the plaintiffs in the case, for comment.