Weekly Spotlight 8/2/25 – 8/9/25

Appeals Court Ruling Opens the Door for Californians to Purchase Ammunition Online

Last week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals delivered a landmark ruling affirming that California gun owners may now legally buy ammunition online. This decision marks a significant victory for gun rights advocates in one of the country’s most restrictive states, coming nearly a decade after voters approved Proposition 63, which mandated background checks on all ammunition purchases.

Under Proposition 63, all ammunition sales were required to go through licensed vendors, and paired with Senate Bill 1235, which since 2018 has prohibited online ammunition deliveries directly to residences. Instead, buyers were forced to arrange in-person transactions, complete with ID verification and background checks.

The recent court ruling directly follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s precedent set in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which recognized that the Second Amendment protects not only the right to keep firearms but also the right to purchase and possess ammunition. As U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez emphasized earlier this year, “[A]ll a plaintiff needs to allege is that by preventing him from buying ammunition, the government’s background check system infringed his right to bear arms.”

Echoing this reasoning, the Ninth Circuit’s majority opinion, authored by Judge Sandra S. Ikuta, affirmed that restrictions like Proposition 63 and mandated background checks on ammunition purchases unconstitutionally burden the right to maintain “operable arms.” “Because arms are inoperable without ammunition, the right to keep and bear arms necessarily encompasses the right to have ammunition,” Judge Ikuta wrote.

This ruling is the latest in a series of court decisions reinforcing and expanding Second Amendment rights in the wake of Bruen. It represents a crucial win for California gun owners, ensuring they can exercise their constitutional right to self-defense despite ongoing legislative efforts aimed at limiting these fundamental freedoms.

OTHER NEWS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED

Washington Examiner (California): California Bill To Block New Glock Sales Could Soon Head To Governor’s Desk

July 28, 2025

Barnini Chakraborty

A California bill that would ban the sale of one of the most popular handguns in the United States is two steps away from becoming law. Assembly Bill 1127 is the brainchild of Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-CA). It prohibits licensed firearms dealers from selling new Glock-brand guns or similar off-brand ones because they can be “easily converted by hand or with common household tools” into a machine gun.

Guns.com: Senate Committee Keeps ATF Budget Intact, Eschews Cuts

The Republican-controlled Senate Committee on Appropriations fully funded the country’s firearm regulator in a spending bill approved for the upcoming fiscal year. The measure, S. 2354, was advanced last week by a vote of 19-10, sending it to the Senate floor to be placed on the calendar for further consideration. While the House version of the bill slices ATF’s proposed budget to $1.2 billion and ties that figure to several pro-gun initiatives, the Senate version authorizes a full $1.625 billion budget. Further, whereas the House variant placed significant handcuffs on how the agency operates, the Senate version only forbids funding from being used to merge the ATF with the DEA.

Townhall: Supreme Court To Take Up Ban On Gun Ownership For Marijuana Users

The Supreme Court will consider hearing a gun control case related to a federal ban on firearm possession by marijuana users. The high court is reportedly expected to have a private discussion on whether it will take up the case of US v. Cooper on September 29. The law has been roundly criticized by gun rights advocates who argue that it is a violation of the Second Amendment. The case centers on LaVance LeMarr Cooper, who was prosecuted for owning a firearm as a marijuana user, which made him a “prohibited person” under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), a federal criminal statute that bars certain people from owning firearms or ammunition.

The Truth About Guns: Sen. Chris Murphy Wants A $4,700 Tax Stamp On Suppressors

You’ve got to hand it to anti-gun politicians—they never miss a chance to go full authoritarian, even when the math doesn’t add up. This week, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT)—one of the most reliable anti-gun crusaders in Congress—proposed a jaw-dropping amendment to a Republican-backed defense spending bill that would raise the NFA tax stamp on suppressors and SBRs from $200 to $4,709. You read that right. Four. Thousand. Seven hundred. Nine. And the $5 stamp on “Any Other Weapons” (AOWs)? He wants to hike that to $55.

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