Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joins 17 attorneys general to defend California’s ban on large-capacity magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
In a friend-of-the-court brief filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the coalition supports California’s petition for en banc review in
Duncan v. Becerra, a case in which a divided three-judge panel struck down California’s ban.
The brief argues that the Second Amendment allows states to enact reasonable firearm restrictions that protect public safety without infringing individuals’ core Second Amendment right to self-defense.
“As Attorneys General, my colleagues and I have a duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of our residents,” said Nessel. “While Michigan doesn’t have a comparable statute on the books, it’s important that I join my colleagues in an effort to preserve the right for each state to implement common-sense public safety and firearm regulations.”
Since 2000, California has prohibited the manufacture, import and sale of large-capacity magazines. In 2016, to further stem the proliferation of large-capacity magazines, the California legislature and the California electorate passed Proposition 63 banning the possession of magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Nine other states and the District of Columbia have also enacted laws banning large-capacity magazines. The constitutionality of those laws have been unanimously upheld by other federal courts of appeals.