U.S. Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke demonstrates the use of handguns in his video dissent in Duncan v. Bonta (screengrab via U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit).
A federal appeals court judge in California appointed by Donald Trump showcased his extensive knowledge of handguns in a rarely-seen video dissent in which he schooled the attorney who argued the case and his fellow appellate judges about how firearms really work.
The full San Fransisco-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled 7-4 Thursday to uphold California’s ban on large capacity magazines. The case was a Second Amendment challenge to California’s 2016 law that barred possession of large-capacity magazines. The dispute reached the United States Supreme Court in 2021, and was subsequently remanded following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen.
The Ninth Circuit ruled Thursday that the ban does not violate Second Amendment rights because large-capacity magazines are not “arms” within the meaning of the constitution, nor are they protected accessories. U.S. Circuit Judge Susan Graber, a Bill Clinton appointee, wrote for the majority, and said the founders chose to constrain the reach of the Second Amendment by protecting the right to bear “arms” — and not the right to bear “arms and accoutrements.”
