 The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals placed an emergency stay on Judge Benitez's injunction against California's ammo ban. The background check law on ammo is still in force. This was not surprising. What is surprising is that it came at 11 PM. The California Attorney General's office sure worked fast to get this in place. Judge Benite'z refused to stay his injuction as requested. He did do this last year with the magazine ban law, creating "Freedom Week," where the injunction took place at the end of business on a Friday. Millions of magazines flooded the state. I'm guessing he didn't do it like that this time because he knew that the CA AG would be wise to that and would win an emergency stay anyway. It might have just felt good to say "No, you tyrant." Which is what Benitez hinted at in his decision (the money quotes coming in tomorrow's post). If the recent hearing over the magazine case in front of the Ninth is any clue, the ammo ban will probably go a similar path. Lots of choices still remain. This is but the first battle won and the second lost in a long war. The US Supreme Court could take this up early and direct the courts to find consistent with Benitez's ruling. We'll see. But a whole lot of people got to order ammo online yesterday and the tyrants of California got a finger in the eye. And the gun stores of the Intermountain West are still open for those who want to drive.  |