By Nate Raymond
(Reuters) – California can proceed with enforcing a law requiring people to undergo background checks to buy ammunition, after a divided federal appeals court on Monday put on hold a judge’s ruling declaring it unconstitutional.
A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel on a 2-1 vote stayed last week’s ruling by U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez in San Diego holding that the background checks law violated the right the bear arms protected by the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment.
The Democratic-led state had asked the 9th Circuit to intervene and issue a stay while it appealed what officials called a “dangerous” ruling by Benitez, an appointee of Republican former President George W. Bush who has ruled against other gun control measures in the past.
Monday’s decision was issued by U.S. Circuit Judges Richard Clifton and Holly Thomas, both appointees of Democratic presidents. U.S. Circuit Judge Consuelo Callahan, another Bush appointee, dissented, saying the state had not shown a likelihood of success on appeal.