"The ban makes it criminal for Californians to own magazines that come standard in Glocks, Berettas, and other handguns that are staples of self-defense. Its scope is so sweeping that half of all magazines in America are now unlawful to own in California." https://twitter.com/2Aupdates/status/1294293000865161217

"To retain symmetry with the parties’ briefing and the statute under review, we employ the term 'large capacity magazine'... But we note that this definition is purely a function of the statutory framework challenged here."

"It may seem that after the 2013 amendments, California had completed the circle in regulating LCMs... So, in 2016, the California legislature passed Senate Bill 1446 that prohibited possession of LCMs outright after July 1, 2017."

"Almost all Glock models, except for subcompact variants designed for concealed carry, come standard with magazine capacities greater than ten rounds."

"For example, Smith & Wesson (S&W) M&P 9 M2.0 nine-millimeter magazines contain seventeen rounds, and other S&W variants have similar capacities."

"We disagree with the government’s position, and we affirm... The statute is a poor means to accomplish the state’s interests and cannot survive strict scrutiny. But even if we applied intermediate scrutiny, the law would still fail."

"We are aware of the criticism that the two-step test 'appears to be entirely made up' and that 'its application has yielded analyses that are entirely inconsistent with Heller.'"

"In April 1775 and closer to home, a rag-tag group of private citizens, armed only with their personal firearms and makeshift weapons, fired the 'shot heard round the world' in Concord, Massachusetts."

"Applying this court’s precedent, we hold that strict scrutiny is the proper standard of constitutional review. California Penal Code section 32310 cannot withstand this level of scrutiny and is unconstitutional."

"Magazines enjoy Second Amendment protection for a simple reason: Without a magazine, many weapons would be useless, including 'quintessential' self-defense weapons like the handgun."

"The record before us amply shows that LCMs are commonly owned and typically used for lawful purposes, i.e., not unusual."

"As discussed earlier, nearly half of all magazines in the United States today hold more than ten rounds of ammunition. And the record shows that such magazines are overwhelmingly owned and used for lawful purposes. This is the antithesis of unusual."

"Firearms with greater than ten round capacities existed even before our nation’s founding, and the common use of LCMs for self-defense is apparent in our shared national history."

"...the record shows that new firearm designs proliferated throughout the states and few restrictions were enacted on firing capacities. The Girandoni air rifle, developed in 1779, had a 22-round capacity and was famously carried on the Lewis and Clark expedition."

"In 1963, almost 250,000 M-1s, capable of holding between 15 and 30 rounds, were sold at steeply discounted prices to law-abiding citizens by the federal government. The ultimate successor to the M-1 was the M-16, with a civilian version dubbed the Armalite Model 15, or AR-15."

"The point of our long march through the history of firearms is this: The record shows that firearms capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition have been available in the United States for well over two centuries."

"While we do not opine on the dangerousness of LCMs, we note that statistics in the record show that criminal use of LCMs is relatively low compared to their market saturation."

"The state claims that LCMs fall outside the scope of the Second Amendment because they are 'most useful in military service.' But that claim misses its mark"

"LCM prohibitions are not longstanding regulations and do not enjoy a presumption of lawfulness."

"Why Can’t Martha Stewart Have a Gun?" gets a shout-out

"As noted above, when the Founders ratified the Second Amendment, no laws restricted ammunition capacity despite multi-shot firearms having been in existence for some 200 years."

"The record before us provides no persuasive historical evidence showing that LCM possession is understood to fall outside the scope of the Second Amendment. As discussed above, the historical record shows that LCM restrictions are modern creations."

"As for prong one of our analysis, the record shows that LCMs are not subject to the exceptions announced in Heller. Magazines are protected arms, and larger capacity magazines are not unusual."

"Section 32310 strikes at the core right of law-abiding citizens to defend hearth and home, and the burden imposed on the core right is substantial. As this court has held, where a burden on the core right is substantial, strict scrutiny is appropriate."

"Simply put, any law that comes close to categorically banning the possession of arms that are commonly used for self-defense imposes a substantial burden on the Second Amendment."

"The seeds of the modern right to defend oneself germinated from fertile ground long ago."

"Perhaps the most poignant and persuasive reminder of the fundamental right to self-defense rests in the denial of that right to Black Americans during tragic chapters of our country’s history."

"Post-Civil War state legislation and the Black Codes in the South deprived newly freed slaves of their Second Amendment rights. Meanwhile, armed bands of ex-Confederates roamed the countryside forcibly disarming and terrorizing African-Americans."

"Not surprisingly, Black Americans embraced their right to self-defense, understanding that protections offered by the state may be promising in theory but fatal in fact."

"Stories of other civil rights activists exercising their right to self-defense are legion. While the NAACP espoused nonviolence, many of its members carried firearms for self-protection, and for good reason."

"During the crucible of the civil rights movement, Black American veterans from World War II and the Korean War founded the Deacons for Defense and Justice to protect Black people from racial violence at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan."

"These terrible events did not occur long ago in faraway lands. They occurred on American soil, some less than sixty years ago."

"Our country’s history has shown that communities of color have a particularly compelling interest in exercising their Second Amendment rights. The Second Amendment provides one last line of defense for people of color when the state cannot —or will not —step in to protect them."

"[Jaime Caetano's] story is not unique. For many women, a firearm may be the equalizer against their abusers and assailants when the state fails to protect them."

"As amici Pink Pistols explain in their brief, armed self-defense can dispel those perceptions and deter such attacks against LGBT members."

"We mention these examples to drive home the point that the Second Amendment is not a second-class right. Nor is self-defense a dispensation granted at the state’s mercy."

"It does not matter that these magazines are not unusual and are used commonly in guns for self-defense. Law-abiding citizens must alter or turn them over — or else the government may forcibly confiscate them from their homes and imprison them up to a year."

"Moreover, LCMs cannot be fairly characterized as a mere subset of magazines because they account for half the magazines in America."

"Put another way, a 'substantial burden' on the Second Amendment is viewed not through a policy prism but through the lens of a fundamental and enumerated constitutional right."

"The Court does not look away from a governmental restriction on the people’s liberty just because the state did not impose a full-tilt limitation on a fundamental and enumerated right... We find ourselves in good company in declining the state’s invitation to hold otherwise."

"Put differently, the lack of a grandfather provision likely requires strict scrutiny because governmental bans on possession cut deeply into the core constitutional right to protect hearth and home."

"When the government bans tens of millions of protected arms that are staples of self-defense and threatens to confiscate them from the homes of law-abiding citizens, that imposes a substantial burden on core Second Amendment rights."

"More fundamentally, no court would ever countenance similar restrictions for other fundamental rights... Nor would a court ever allow the government to outlaw so-called 'dangerous' music by, say, Dr. Dre, merely because the state has chosen not to outlaw Debussy."

"The state relies on the fallback position that the Second Amendment deserves less protection because it allegedly poses an inherent danger to public safety that other rights do not. But individual rights often impose at least some risk on public safety."

"This is not hypothetical. Criminals sometimes go free because our society prioritizes individual constitutional rights over concerns that freed offenders may commit crimes again."

"The state’s approach is also at odds with the Supreme Court’s framework for other rights."

"There is also no stopping point to the state’s argument. Under its logic, California could limit magazines to as few as three bullets and not substantially burden [2A] rights because, on average, 2.2 bullets are used in every defensive encounter according to one study."

"When asked whether the state could permissibly restrict magazines to contain zero bullets, allowing for one round in the firearm’s chamber, counsel offered only a qualified concession: 'I think that might be too low. Hypothetically.'"

"While Hollywood and the Bay Area symbolize California to the world, the Golden State is in fact a much more diverse and vibrant place, with people living in sparsely populated rural counties, seemingly deserted desert towns, and majestic mountain villages."

"Further, some people, especially in communities of color, do not trust law enforcement and are less likely —over 40% less likely, according to one study — to call 911 even during emergencies."

"The state attempts to seek refuge in the holdings of extra-circuit authority. But those decisions present myriad distinctions and are inapposite."

"But 'semi-automatic pistols' used for self-defense — such as a Glock — routinely use LCMs, and, in fact, an LCM is the standard magazine that comes equipped with the gun."

"The state relies on this court’s decision in Fyock v. City of Sunnyvale to maintain that intermediate scrutiny applies here. But it hangs too heavy a hat on too small a hook."

"We are not in Sunnyvale anymore."

"When the government tries to limit the people’s fundamental rights, the Supreme Court typically presumes that strict scrutiny applies... And it makes sense to do so."

"We remind future litigants that it is still necessary to show that the stated interest is compelling and may not simply be presumed."

"As made plain by our earlier discussion, intermediate scrutiny is the wrong standard to apply. But even if we were to apply it today, California Penal Code section 32310 would still fail."

"Some courts have applied a diluted form of intermediate scrutiny that approximates rational basis, which Heller forbids."

"Indeed, this very argument advanced by the state was roundly rejected by the majority in Heller... To apply Turner today would amount to an abdication of our judicial independence and we refuse to do so."

"Even if we were to apply intermediate scrutiny, California Penal Code section 32310 would still fail. While the interests expressed by the state no doubt qualify as 'important,' the means chosen to advance those interests are not substantially related to their service."

"These law-abiding citizens could have owned LCM for decades, and perhaps even used them for self-defense in the past. But none of that matters under California law. They must turn them over — or face a year in jail."

"The state could ban virtually anything if the test is merely whether something causes social ills when someone other than its lawful owner misuses it."

"The data relied on by the state in defense of section 32310 is, as the trial court found, “remarkably thin.” California primarily cites two unofficial surveys to support dispossessing law-abiding Californians of millions of magazines."

"We also want to make clear that our decision today does not address issues not before us. We do not opine on bans on so-called 'assault weapons,' nor do we speculate about the legitimacy of bans on magazines holding far larger quantities of ammunition."

"It makes unlawful magazines that are commonly used in handguns by law-abiding citizens for self-defense. And it substantially burdens the core right of self-defense guaranteed to the people under the Second Amendment. It cannot stand."