A judge in Washington state ruled Monday that the state’s ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines is unconstitutional — but the law will remain in effect while the state appeals the decision.

Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Gary Bashor ruled that Washington’s ban on magazines that hold more than 10 rounds violates both the Washington state and U.S. constitutions, The Seattle Times reported. He issued an immediate injunction to stop the state from enforcing the ban, which has been in place since 2022.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed an emergency appeal to the state Supreme Court seeking to keep the law in effect during the appeals process. That was granted Monday evening and the ban will stay in place for now.

In granting the emergency appeal, Washington State Supreme Court commissioner Michael Johnston wrote that he considered “the debatable nature of the factual and legal issues raised in this case, and the public safety issues concerning the proliferation of large capacity magazines.”

    • doingthestuff@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Heller vs DC happened since then:

      The Heller test looks at what arms are “in common use” today, not in the past. If semiautomatic rifles and handguns that accept detachable magazines are in common use today, they are protected. Their ubiquity, and their being “in common use,” confirms their protected status under the Second Amendment.

    • bostonbananarama@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Heller (2008), McDonald (2010), and Bruen (2022) were not decided yet. It’s impossible to overstate how significantly those decisions change gun laws in this country.

    • FireTower@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      The existence of a law isn’t enough to support the constitutionality of a law. There has been quite a few patently unconstitutional laws enacted. Like the Sedition Act of 1918.