Free Republic

U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez delivered another scathing rebuke to the state of California on Thursday, just weeks after declaring the state’s ban on “large capacity” magazines unconstitutional. This time around it was the state’s ban on “assault weapons” that was before the judge, in a case known as Miller v. Bonta. Benitez was unsparing in his criticism of the law, which he says bars ordinary Californians from possessing commonly-owned arms that are protected by the language of the Second Amendment. Modern semiautomatic rifles like the AR-15 platform rifle are widely owned by law-abiding citizens across the nation. Other than...

It’s not the first time that U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez has determined that California’s ban on “large capacity” magazines violates the Second Amendment, but hopefully this time the decision will stick. Benitez issued his first ruling before the Bruen decision was released last year, but the Ninth pulled its typical move and overruled him in an en banc review, sending the case to the Supreme Court. After Bruen, the Supreme Court granted cert and remanded the case back to the Ninth Circuit with instructions to reconsider in light of the text, history, and tradition test it laid out, but...

I have marveled over the years at the kind of fear and anger the Christian Faith generates in some sectors of our society. Even the suggestion that there might a a small nativity scene in a park, or Christmas tree near City Hall, or a display of the Ten Commandments often elicits a hew and cry and brings forth camera crews and elicits lawsuits. But the venom seems especially reserved  for symbols of the Christian faith in particular and to some extent the wider Judeo-Christian heritage. A reference from the Q’ran in school is seen by many of this same...