Rupp v. Becerra

Protecting California’s Assault Weapons Control Act.

Court: Central District of California; Ninth Circuit

Issue at Stake: Assault weapons

Summary: Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund filed an amicus brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in defense of California’s Assault Weapons Control Act, which prohibits the manufacture, possession, transport, sale, offer for sale, and import of assault weapons. 

Everytown’s brief provides an account of the long history of regulating especially dangerous weapons—including nearly a century of restrictions on semiautomatic firearms capable of firing a large number of rounds without reloading, which were first enacted shortly after those weapons became widely available in the commercial market. This brief notes the circularity and illogic of the “common use” test argued for by plaintiffs, based upon nationwide sales and manufacturing figures, which cannot be reconciled with either the Supreme Court case law or common sense. And the brief also discusses Everytown’s own research and other relevant social science and empirical evidence demonstrating California’s robust basis for concluding that its law prohibiting assault weapons advances the State’s important interest in reducing gun violence.

The case is on appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Everytown previously filed an amicus brief in that court.

Decision: On July 22, 2019, the district court granted California’s motion for summary judgment in an opinion that cited Everytown’s amicus brief several times. The court held that the assault weapons falling under the Act are not protected by the Second Amendment, and even if they were, the State’s substantial interest in protecting public safety easily justifies California’s decision to regulate these “incredibly effective killing machines.” The case remains pending in the Ninth Circuit.

Case Documents