Los Angeles Magazine Ban Date Coming Up; Suit Filed to Stay It

Law Shield wants to remind all our members across the country not to travel to Los Angeles with any 10+ magazines after Nov. 18, 2015 — unless a suit to stop the City’s newest magazine ban is successful.

California outlawed the manufacturing or selling high-capacity magazines in 2000, but the new Los Angeles ordinance makes it illegal to possess them. Law Shield notes that lawsuits against magazine bans in the California cities of Sunnyvale and San Francisco have failed.

In July 2015, the City Council voted to ban ownership of magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Gun owners face a Nov. 18 deadline to turn over magazines or move them out of the city. See our previous coverage of the ban here.

Significantly, the law doesn’t just apply to Los Angeles city residents. Non-resident gun owners must avoid traveling through any part of the city of Los Angeles while possessing any banned magazine. This map illustrates where the borders of Los Angeles fall.

Notably, the city intersects every major Southern California freeway. In some cases the city of Los Angeles completely surrounds other smaller cities, like Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica. So anyone traveling out of Santa Monica or Beverly Hills, and anyone traveling through the city of Los Angeles with a banned magazine can be prosecuted. However, 30 California Sheriffs, two law enforcement organizations, the California Rifle and Pistol Association (CRPA), and several other individuals have filed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the ordinance. The lawsuit challenges the magazine possession ban on legal “preemption” grounds, because California state law specifically allows for the possession of such magazines.

Summary: Under the ordinance, possession of any “large-capacity” magazine within Los Angeles after November 19, 2015 will be a misdemeanor offense. Los Angeles residents must get rid of their banned magazines by that date. The lawsuit asks the court to stay enforcement of the ordinance while the matter is litigated.

As the case progresses, you will be able to view all of the filings in the case here. For a summary of firearms litigation in the state, click here.

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