California law banning firearms in public places blocked once again

LOS ANGELES — A new California law that bans people from carrying firearms in most public places was once again blocked from taking effect Saturday as a court case challenging it continues.

A 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel dissolved a temporary hold on a lower court injunction blocking the law. The hold was issued by a different 9th Circuit panel and had allowed the law to go into effect Jan 1.

Saturday’s decision keeps in place a Dec. 20 ruling by U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney blocking the law. Carney said that it violates the Second Amendment and that gun rights groups would likely prevail in proving it unconstitutional.

The law, signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, prohibits people from carrying concealed guns in 26 types of places including public parks and playgrounds, churches, banks and zoos. The ban applies regardless of whether a person has a concealed carry permit.

Newsom has positioned himself as a leader on gun control and says he will keep pushing for stricter regulations.

Following Saturday’s ruling his office issued a statement saying, “this dangerous decision puts the lives of Californians on the line.”

The president of the California Rifle and Pistol Association, which sued to block the law, countered that “the politicians’ ploy to get around the Second Amendment has been stopped for now.”