Thoughts and prayers for federal judge in California who thinks knives, AR-15s are the same

California was the nation’s first state to ban assault weapons after the 1989 mass shooting at a Stockton schoolyard that was carried out by a depraved, xenophobic gunman with an AK-47. He murdered five Southeast Asian children and injured 31 other students and teachers.

For decades, other states aspired to the standards set under California’s bipartisan law. Thanks to a dumbfounding ruling from a federal judge on Friday, who equated the AR-15 semiautomatic rifle to a Swiss Army knife, the law could now be overturned. More importantly, this ruling undermines progress toward common-sense regulations that could save us from ourselves as gun violence and ownership both surge in California.

In a 94-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez declared the 32-year-old law unconstitutional and a “failed experiment.” Benitez, a George W. Bush appointee serving in the Southern District of California, said “this is an average case about average guns used in average ways for average purposes.”

“The popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment,” Benitez wrote in his opinion.

It’s also the perfect combination for murdering innocent civilians. The AR-15 was used in the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas that left 59 dead and more than 500 injured; the 2016 mass shooting at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub that killed 49 people; the 2018 mass shooting in Parkland, Fla. that left 17 dead and the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. that left 28 dead, including 20 children.

According to a March analysis by Newsweek, AR-15 rifles have been used in 26% of the last 80 American mass shootings.

This is not the first time Benitez has sided with gun rights advocates. Fox News labels him as a “pro-Second Amendment judge.” Last year, Benitez overturned California’s ammunition background check program by saying that, in California, “the Second Amendment gets even less respect” than Rodney Dangerfield. In 2019, Benitez blocked a state ban on high-capacity gun magazines, which will soon be heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

Gun advocates clearly see an opening to expand gun rights given the conservative bent of the Supreme Court with Trump appointees Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett on the bench. The court will hear a case on the limits of carrying concealed weapons later this year.

The decision by Benitez comes just nine days after a gunman in San Jose fired 39 rounds with semiautomatic handguns, killing nine of his colleagues before taking his own life. It was the Bay Area’s deadliest mass shooting. As of May 26, there have been 232 mass shootings nationwide.

We cannot keep tolerating the epidemic of gun violence and the inaction from leaders who bow to interest groups and lobbyists. Last week, a bill that would have used the proceeds from a tax on ammunition to fund gun violence prevention measures failed to pass in the Assembly.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said he will appeal the assault rifle decision to the 9th Circuit court. We hope the judges use more reasoning than Benitez did and promptly reverse the ruling.

Still, California cannot leave the fate of gun safety laws to the partisan swings of the court system. Far too many lives have been lost, and far too many lives will be taken if we remain numb to the cycle of horrific mass shootings. Promises do little to protect California communities from gun violence. State legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom must respond to the massacre in San Jose and the threats in the court with meaningful action.

In the meantime, we send our thoughts and prayers after this unfortunate loss of sanity in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.