Appeals Court Upholds Block on California’s Background Check to Buy Ammunition

The court ruled that the law regulates activity protected by the Second Amendment because ammunition is necessary for the use of firearms.

Ammunition in a store in Petaluma, Calif., on April 2, 2013. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled July 24 that a California law requiring background checks to buy ammunition violated the Second Amendment.

A three-judge panel ruled 2–1 that the background check requirement failed to meet the standard set by the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen.