'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
A federal judge on Monday blocked key provisions of a California law that drastically restricts the sale of new handguns in the state, saying parts of the legislation violate the Second Amendment.
A lawsuit challenging the law was filed last year by the California Rifle & Pistol Association and other gun rights supporters following a landmark 2022 decision from the U.S. Supreme Court that set new standards for evaluating firearm restrictions. The ruling left many laws aimed at regulating and limiting the sale and use of guns -- in California and nationwide -- at risk of being struck down.
U.S. District Court Judge Cormac Carney, sitting in Santa Ana, wrote Monday that California's requirements for new handguns are unconstitutional and cannot be enforced. Because of these restrictions, Carney wrote, no new models of semiautomatic handguns have been approved for sale since 2013 and Californians are forced to buy older and potentially less safe models.
He issued a preliminary injunction to take effect in two weeks, meaning the state would have to stop enforcing the law. The delay gives the state Department of Justice time to appeal.
"The fact of the matter is, California's gun safety laws save lives, and California's Unsafe Handgun Act is no exception," Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. "We will continue to lead efforts to advance and defend California's gun safety laws. As we move forward to determine next steps in this case, Californians should know that this injunction has not gone into effect and that California's important gun safety requirements related to the Unsafe Handgun Act remain in effect."
In California, state law requires new handguns to have three components: A chamber load indicator, which shows whether the gun is loaded; a magazine disconnect mechanism that will stop the gun from firing if the magazine is not properly inserted; and microstamping capability so law enforcement can more easily link spent shell casings to the guns they were fired from.
"No handgun available in the world has all three of these features," the judge wrote. "These regulations are having a devastating impact on Californians' ability to acquire and use new, state-of-the-art handguns."
Older handguns have been grandfathered into what's known as the "roster," or a list of guns that pass a safety test under state law known as the Unsafe Handgun Act.
"Californians have the constitutional right to acquire and use state-of-the-art handguns to protect themselves," he wrote. "They should not be forced to settle for decade-old models of handguns to ensure that they remain safe inside or outside the home."
Previous attempts to challenge the state law, filed before last year's Supreme Court ruling, failed.
Chuck Michel, head of the California Rifle & Pistol Association, said the three requirements were "impossible to satisfy."
"For decades this `roster' law has deprived law-abiding citizens of the right to choose a handgun appropriate for their individual needs," he wrote in a statement Monday. "If we can hold on to this great Second Amendment win, people will be able to choose from among thousands of the latest, greatest, and safest handguns made today."
Only New York also has a similar microstamping requirement, according to gun congrol group Everytown for Gun Safety.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for the firearms industry, hailed the preliminary injunction in a statement Monday.
"For too long, the Second Amendment has been significantly infringed upon by elected officials who have taken every opportunity to put roadblocks in front of law-abiding citizens seeking to exercise their Second Amendment rights," said Lawrence Keane, the organization's senior vice president. "The order is the first step in what will be a protracted legal battle, but it is a significant win."
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.