Federal Judge Grants SAF Preliminary Injunction in Cal. Handgun Roster Case
BELLEVUE, WA – A federal judge in California has issued an order granting a preliminary injunction against enforcement of sections of the state’s “Unsafe Handgun Act” (UHA), while denying a preliminary injunction request against other sections of the law, in a Second Amendment Foundation case.
However, Chief Judge Dana M. Sabraw of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California also stayed the ruling pending appeal or further hearing on the matter, whichever occurs first. A telephone conference is scheduled April 14 “at which time the parties shall advise the Court how they wish to proceed.”
SAF is joined in the case by North County Shooting Center, Gunfighter Tactical, the Firearms Policy Coalition, San Diego County Gun Owners, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and several private citizens, including Lana Rae Renna, for whom the case is named. They are represented by attorneys Raymond DiGuiseppe of Southport, N.C., Michael Sousa of San Diego, Calif., and William Sack of Havertown, Pa.
The case, originally filed in late 2020, challenges the requirements of California’s UHA, which includes a codified “roster” of acceptable handguns. The roster limits handgun sales to those models that satisfy numerous testing and safety feature requirements, such as a “chamber loaded indicator” (CLI) and “magazine disconnect mechanism” (MDM) and microstamping, which plaintiffs say are not required in 47 other states. The requirements have essentially prevented the sale of modern up-to-date handguns, as no new models have been added to the roster’s approved list for more than a decade. Meanwhile, the limited number of handguns now on the list continues to shrink because of the testing and safety feature requirements. Read more