An appeals court has reinstated a California law requiring background checks for people buying ammunition, reversing a federal judge’s decision to stop the checks that he said violate the constitutional right to bear arms. The law, which took effect last July, requires Californians to pass an in-store background check before buying ammunition. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday granted the state attorney general’s request to stay the judge’s order. In a news release, the National Rifle Association said, “This means that the same restrictions that have been previously in effect regarding ammunition in California are back for the time being.” The background check before buying ammunition involves running buyers’ names through a California Department of Justice database that tracks legal purchases of guns. Gun rights activists complained the law’s red tape and database errors unfairly limited legal purchases of ammunition.
