California [US], December 31 : A US appeals court on Saturday facilitated the enforcement of a California law prohibiting concealed carrying of firearms in designated "sensitive places," slated to take effect on January 1, CNN reported.
This comes despite a federal judge, Cormac Carney, previously blocking the law, deeming it "repugnant to the Second Amendment."
Last week, District Judge Cormac Carney issued an injunction blocking Senate Bill 2, preventing its enforcement. However, on Saturday, a three-judge panel filed an order temporarily blocking that injunction.
This administrative stay, issued without delving into the case's merits, allowed the court to postpone Judge Carney's order, providing additional time to consider arguments from both sides and paving the way for the law to be implemented. "In granting an administrative stay, we do not intend to constrain the merits panel's consideration of the merits of these appeals in any way," the judges wrote.
Signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom in September as part of a series of gun control measures, the law specifically targets individuals with concealed carry licenses. Governor Newsom justified these measures by pointing to recent shootings across the country that claimed over 100 lives in the 72 hours leading up to the signing.
The new law restricts the concealed carry of firearms in various California locations, including places of worship, public libraries, amusement parks, zoos, and sporting events. Multiple plaintiffs, such as the California Rifle and Pistol Association and Gun Owners of America, challenged the legislation. Judge Carney sided with them, expressing concerns about the law's broad scope, contending it transforms almost every public space in California into a 'sensitive place,' according to CNN.
Describing the law as "sweeping, repugnant to the Second Amendment, and openly defiant of the Supreme Court," Carney criticised its extensive reach. In response to Carney's ruling, Governor Newsom criticised the judge's perspective, asserting that the locations barred for concealed carry under the new law are spaces that "should be safe for all."
"This ruling outrageously calls California's data-backed gun safety efforts 'repugnant,'" Newsom previously told CNN. "What is repugnant is this ruling, which greenlights the proliferation of guns in our hospitals, libraries, and children's playgrounds spaces, which should be safe for all."
CD Michel, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said, "This is an administrative motions panel preliminary ruling. We will immediately ask the merits panel to reverse this and keep the law as it has been for decades," CNN reported.
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