California Attorney General Kamala Harris had sought a stay of Judge Anthony Ishii’s decision in Sylvester v. Harris. That was the case that challenged California’s 10-day waiting period as it applied to certain individuals. Her argument in a nutshell was “Hey, this is gonna cost us money and we need to hire some folks to comply; I don’t see how we can comply within in a year, and you know we really have more important stuff to do.”
Judge Ishii replied,
“The problem is that Defendant believes that other projects are deserving of greater priority. See id. There is no description of what these critical projects are or when the deadlines might be, nor is there an explanation of why outside contractors cannot be utilized for some of those projects, nor is there an explanation of why computer personnel from different departments or agencies cannot be utilized. A bench trial has concluded, and a law that is actively being enforced has been found to be unconstitutional. The Court does not know how Defendant or the BOF (Bureau of Firearms) prioritizes projects, but dealing with an unconstitutional law should be towards the top of the list.”
The court went on to say, “The [state’s] arguments were more in line with rational basis scrutiny” – a weak form of judicial review that was expressly rejected in the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark District of Columbia v. Heller decision – “than with intermediate scrutiny,” which forces governments to prove how a law impinging on a constitutional right serves an important purpose.
And, “The Court notes that Defendant has not identified any error of law or any erroneous factual finding. The Court stands by its analysis and its findings that the waiting period laws violate the Second Amendment.”
Harris has already filed a notice with the district court that she intends to take the loss to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals where she will presumably argue against the court’s holding that “the 10-day waiting period violate[s] the Second Amendment as applied to three classes of individuals.”
