The state of California recently lost two separate court cases challenging its unconstitutional youth firearm marketing laws, and as a result must pay $1,381,749.72 for attorneys’ fees.
The suits revolved around the 2022 Assembly Bill 2571, which purported to prohibit firearms manufacturers from advertising or marketing to minors.
The bill was challenged in two separate lawsuits, filed on July 8 and August 5, respectively, by Junior Sports Magazines Inc. v. Bonta and Safari Club International v. Bonta. Both lawsuits were resolved on March 17 by separate orders entering injunctions and stipulations from the United States District Court for the Central District of California and the Eastern District of California.
The lawsuits challenged the constitutionality of the law based on First and Fourteenth Amendment protections. “The First Amendment provides different levels of protection to all forms of speech,” said Michael Jean, Litigation Counsel for Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation. “When it comes to commercial advertising, it protects truthful, non-misleading advertising, unless those advertisements further some other illegal activity.”
The challenge reached the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which reversed a lower court’s denial of a preliminary injunction and remanded (or sent the case back) to the lower court. In overturning the lower court, the Ninth Circuit panel stated, “There was no evidence in the record that a minor in California has ever unlawfully bought a gun, let alone because of an ad.”
While the decisions are seen as a victory for the Second Amendment community, it bears reminding that the state of California both defended the suit and will pay the attorney fees with taxpayer funds. The total cost of the suit is much higher when factoring in money donated to gun rights groups that helped litigate the issue.
