NRA loses appeal of California firearm fee

Cross-posted from LBN: https://www.democraticunderground.com/10141789029

Source: Reuters

Thu Jun 1, 2017 | 2:06pm EDT

By Jonathan Stempel

The National Rifle Association failed to persuade a federal appeals court to overturn a California law requiring that $5 of a $19 fee imposed on firearms transfers be used to fund enforcement efforts against illegal firearm purchases.

In a 3-0 decision on Thursday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said the law advanced California's interest in disarming people who are forbidden from possessing guns and rifles, while imposing only a "minimal" burden on core constitutional rights under the Second Amendment.

California's prohibition covers people convicted of felonies or violent misdemeanors, people subject to domestic violence restraining orders, and the mentally ill. "The government has demonstrated an important public safety interest in this statutory scheme, and there is a reasonable fit between the government's interest and the means it has chosen to achieve those ends," Chief Judge Sidney Thomas wrote.

Thursday's decision is a defeat for the NRA, the California Rifle and Pistol Association Foundation and four other plaintiffs.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/california-nra-idUSL1N1IY1KS

Kudos to California for leading the way on common sense legislation and taxation aimed at reducing the level of gun violence in our communities and our country. The right-wing gun lobby mantra of "guns everywhere, for everybody" is beginning to wear thin on the general populace as gun deaths and injuries continue to plague the nation.