Matthew Jones v. Rob Bonta
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · No. 20-56174 · 34 F.4th 704
🤝Mixed outcome
hunting-license condition left in place while the under-21 semiautomatic rifle ban was ordered enjoined
GunMapUSA assessment of the outcome's direction, not a statement that the court decided rightly or wrongly.
What the court held
Young adults and firearms retailers sought to enjoin two California laws restricting sales to people under 21: a rule allowing long gun purchases only with a hunting license, and a near-total ban on purchasing semiautomatic centerfire rifles. A Ninth Circuit panel held the Second Amendment protects the right of 18-to-20-year-olds to keep and bear arms, affirmed the refusal to enjoin the hunting-license condition under intermediate scrutiny, but reversed as to the semiautomatic rifle ban, holding it warranted strict scrutiny and failed even intermediate scrutiny, and that the district court also erred on irreparable harm and the public interest. Judge Stein dissented in part and would have upheld both laws.
Summarized from the court's opinion.
What this case is about
California ban on the sale of long guns and semiautomatic centerfire rifles to persons under 21
GunMapUSA summary of the issue, not a quotation from the court.
Key Dates
- 2022-05-11 — Decided
Sources
- CourtListener — retrieved 2026-08-08
Summary of public court records. Not legal advice.