A federal appeals court this week put on hold a judge’s ruling overturning California’s 32-year-old ban on so-called “assault weapons.”
On Monday, a three-judge panel in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay (pdf) of U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez’s June 4 order. It followed appeals from state officials on the decision, saying that the law is needed to prevent gun deaths.