On March 17, 2026, in the USA District Courtroom for the Central District of California, the court docket licensed a settlement between the Legal professional Common of California and the plaintiffs within the case of Junior Sports activities Magazines Inc. et al., and Rob Bonta. The First and Second Amendments had been large winners. From the Courtroom Order:
III. JUDICIAL DECLARATION
IT IS HEREBY DECLARED that Part 22949.80, in its entirety, violates the First Modification of the USA Structure on its face and as utilized to Plaintiffs.
IV. PERMANENT INJUNCTION
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant shall be completely enjoined from implementing part 22949.80. The Legal professional Common is additional directed to subject an alert by way of an data bulletin or different odd communications notifying all District Attorneys, County Counsels, and Metropolis Attorneys in California that enforcement of Part 22949.80 has been completely enjoined in its entirety.
As well as, the Legal professional Common was ordered to pay the attorneys’ charges to the Firearms Coverage Coalition (FPC) and the Second Modification Basis (SAF). Gavin Newsom, a proponent of this regulation, and the state of California will now pay the plaintiffs $1.38 million in charges.
Gavin Newsom handed a regulation to assault the First Modification as a result of he was mad a couple of .22lr rifle that was meant for junior shooters.
That little stunt has price California taxpayers over one million {dollars}, not together with no matter CADOJ spent on their very own attorneys.
$350k to SAF,… pic.twitter.com/zC31UxPvTn
— SAF (@2AFDN) March 17, 2026
This case started nearly 4 years in the past, when the California legislature handed a statute banning the promoting of firearms to minors. The regulation grew to become Part 22949.80. Alan Gottlieb and Dave Workman wrote about it at AmmoLand in July of 2022:
A number of plaintiffs, together with gun rights organizations, are difficult modifications in state regulation created by the passage of Meeting Invoice 2571, which makes it illegal for any firearm trade members to promote, market, or organize for placement of an promoting or advertising and marketing communication regarding any firearm-related product in a way that’s designed, meant, or moderately seems to be enticing to minors. The plaintiffs are asking for a preliminary injunction towards the enforcement of the regulation.
In October 2024, the District Courtroom dominated towards the First and Second Modification defenders. The defenders instantly appealed to a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit. On September 13, 2023, the three-judge panel reversed the District Courtroom and located the regulation to be unconstitutional underneath the First Modification. It was a unanimous resolution. Then the State of California requested for an en banc panel to rehear the case and reverse the three-judge panel. Alan Gottlieb wrote about it on AmmoLand.
En banc critiques have been used within the Ninth Circuit to kill constructive three-judge panel choices on the Second Modification. The Ninth Circuit refused to rehear the case en banc on February 28, 2024. The case was despatched again to the District Courtroom. On October 1, 2025, the Preliminary Injunction was ordered by the District Courtroom. On March 17, 2026, the events agreed to a settlement. As proven above, all of Part 22949.80 was struck down.
The agreed settlement, accepted by the Courtroom, awarded $550,000 to the regulation agency of Michel & Associates, P.C., which represented the Firearms Coverage Coalition (FPC) and $350,000 to the Legislation Workplaces of Donald Kilmer, which represented the Second Modification Basis (SAF). As well as, Kostas Moros experiences on X that one other $480,000 is to be paid within the Safari Membership Worldwide case. Kostos experiences that the 2 instances are on the identical points.
The regulation was an egregious violation of the First Modification from the start, an try and cease assist for the Second Modification. It ought to by no means have been handed. The State of California then compounded its contempt for the First and Second Amendments by dragging out this case for nearly 4 years, costing the state hundreds of {dollars} in attorneys’ charges.
The charges won’t price those that filed the invoice and voted for the regulation, or those that defended the regulation in court docket, any cash in any respect. They had been/are spending different individuals’s cash. That is anticipated in California.
New Courtroom Break up May Drive Supreme Courtroom to Determine Journal and AR-15 Ban Instances
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a army officer, was on the College of Wisconsin Pistol Staff for 4 years, and was first licensed to show firearms security in 1973. He taught the Arizona hid carry course for fifteen years till the objective of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has levels in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Division of Protection after a 30 12 months profession in Military Analysis, Growth, Testing, and Analysis.
