Gun owners in So Cal have gone on a shopping spree to beat a deadline on high-capacity magazines. It's been nearly two decades since a judge banned the sale and purchase of the guns, but U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez in San Diego has declared Proposition 63 unconstitutional and violated the Second Amendment rights of gun owners.
Benitez ruled that magazines which hold over 10 rounds are considered "arms" under the U.S. Constitution. He followed up by saying that the California law "burdens the core of the Second Amendment by criminalizing the acquisition and possession of these magazines that are commonly held by law-abiding citizens for defense of self, home, and state."
Stores quickly began selling them to customers lined out of the door. Today is the last day to purchase the magazines and most say they are collecting them for practice and protection.
"Bad political ideas cannot be stopped by criminalizing bad political speech," he wrote. "Crime waves cannot be broken with warrantless searches and unreasonable seizures. Neither can the government response to a few mad men with guns and ammunition be a law that turns millions of responsible, law-abiding people trying to protect themselves into criminals. Yet, this is the effect of California's large-capacity magazine law."
Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s appealed Benitez’s 86-page order overturning Proposition 63 to the Ninth Circuit. KFI News spoke with some customers regarding their thoughts on the ban.
"If you're using it for the right cause, I think it's no problem. If you have other causes then obviously there's going to be some issue," one man answered.
"I have five 30-round mags. I bought four of the AR-15 30-round magazines."
Another man says he’s not sure if Californians will have that chance again.
"For me it's just for fun, just for recreation. I have one just for home defense."
It is unclear how many high-capacity magazines have been imported into California within the last week. The ban allows gun owners to buy high-capacity magazines until 5 this afternoon. Gunstores in SoCal have been packed.