One of the more surprising court decisions during the Trump era was the recent case that took place in the Ninth Circuit regarding magazine limits.
The Ninth Circuit has gained notoriety for its leftist decisions. But in the case of Duncan v. Becerra, it surprised everyone when the three-judge panel struck down California’s prohibition on firearm magazines of over ten rounds on the grounds that the ban represented a violation of the Second Amendment.
However, these kinds of lawsuits are far from over.
The Hawaii Firearms Coalition recently filed a lawsuit to address their specific magazine ban.
They issued their own press release outlining the matter:
Honolulu, Hawaii. August 20th, 2020. Yesterday evening Attorney Alan Beck on behalf of Hawaii Firearms Coalition director Jon Abbott and two other Hawaii residents (Kevin Kacatin and Soleil Roache), filed a lawsuit in the US District Court of Hawaii.
The lawsuit alleges that Hawaii’s ban on Handgun magazines with a capacity greater than ten rounds in unconstitutional. HRS 134-8(c) bans the possession of any magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds. The plaintiffs in the case have all stated that if it were not for Hawaii’s ban, they would seek to and would own magazines with a larger capacity. Currently, if they were to be found in possession and using said magazines, they would be charged with a Class C felony.
The recent ruling by the 9th Circuit Court in Duncan v. Becerra supports this lawsuit. In that case, the court found that; millions of ammunition magazines able to hold more than 10 rounds are in common use by law-abiding responsible citizens for lawful uses like self-defense. As such, they are protected by the second amendment and can not be subject to a categorical ban.
Applying the same logical steps used by the 9th Circuit Court in Duncan, Hawaii’s law is likely to be found unconstitutional. In recent years Hawaii’s Firearms Coalition has asked legislators to amend Hawaii’s law to remove the capacity based ban, but legislators have been unwilling to do so. The only available course of action left is to have it removed by the courts.
This represents a logical, next step for the fight against magazine bans. But this time, it will center around Hawaii’s law.
Due to the Ninth Circuit ruling on this, as Cam Edwards noted, “the lower courts have clear guidance on this and should rule accordingly.”
Hawaii is one of the most anti-gun states in the country, with a terrible 48th place ranking according to Guns & Ammo magazine’s survey of the most amicable states towards gun owners.
Gun owners in Hawaii will likely have to turn to the courts or pursue unconventional sanctuary strategies to protect their God-given right to self- defense.
