9th Circuit ends California ban on high-capacity magazines

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday threw out California's ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines, saying the law violates the U.S. Constitution's protection of the right to bear firearms.

"Even well-intentioned laws must pass constitutional muster," appellate Judge Kenneth Lee wrote for the panel's majority. California's ban on magazines holding more than 10 bullets "strikes at the core of the Second Amendment - the right to armed self-defense."

He noted that California passed the law "in the wake of heart-wrenching and highly pu...