On December 23, 2011, The Calguns Foundation, The Second Amendment Foundation and several individual plaintiffs filed suit against the California Attorney General Kamala Harris challenging the mandatory 10-day waiting period for a firearm as an infringement of the right to bear arms under the Second Amendment, as it applies to individuals who have been found qualified to, and have, purchased firearms in the past. The lawsuit does not challenge the 10-day waiting period for those individuals that have not purchased a firearm in the past. Victor Otten and Don Kilmer, Jr. are the attorneys representing the plaintiffs.

In his December 9, 2013 ruling denying the Attorney General’s motion for summary adjudication, Senior Federal District Court Judge Anthony W. Ishii concluded that the Waiting Period Law burdens the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.  The Court found that Ms. Harris presented insufficient evidence to justify the actual 10-day period, such as “evidence regarding the nature of the background checks performed, how much time is necessary to perform a background check or why 10 days are necessary in order to perform a background check.”  The Court also concluded that Ms. Harris was unable to present evidence to show that the 10 days is “not substantially broader than necessary.”

“Cases like this one will define the limits of government regulations on firearms and Second Amendment rights,” noted Brandon Combs, an individual plaintiff in the case and the Executive Director of the Calguns Foundation.  “We look forward to making sure laws like California’s waiting period are properly scrutinized by the courts.”

“The fact that a federal judge saw these laws for what they are — baseless restraints on the exercise of a fundamental civil right — is monumental,” explained Gene Hoffman, Chairman of The Calguns Foundation. “California’s waiting period laws for those who already own guns is not Constitutional and this order really underlines the point.”