Ninth Circuit Strikes Down California's One-Gun-Per-Month Law in Major 2A Victory

In a significant win for Second Amendment advocates, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down California’s controversial “one gun a month” law in the case of Nguyen v. Bonta. This law had prohibited individuals from purchasing more than one firearm within a 30-day period, a restriction that the court ruled as unconstitutional.

The case originally began at the district court level, where a judge found the law violated the Second Amendment and issued an injunction against its enforcement. Although California initially succeeded in placing an emergency stay on the injunction, a subsequent three-judge panel reversed that decision, allowing the injunction to stand while the case continued.

In a surprising turn—especially from a court often perceived as leaning against gun rights—the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's ruling, stating that the law “facially violates the Second Amendment.” The court emphasized that the Second Amendment protects the right to possess multiple firearms and prohibits “meaningful constraints on the acquisition” of arms.

Notably, the ruling directly undermines a new California bill currently working its way through the legislature, which would limit firearm purchases to three per month. The language used by the Ninth Circuit—including the observation that there is “not even a historical cousin” to California’s restriction—suggests this new bill may also be doomed.

This decision marks a rare but powerful moment where the courts recognized and upheld the full scope of Second Amendment protections, rejecting the notion that the state can impose arbitrary limits on lawful gun purchases.

While California may attempt further appeals, possibly to the U.S. Supreme Court, the tone and content of the Ninth Circuit’s opinion suggest this could be the end of the road for this type of restrictive legislation. For now, Californians are no longer limited to one gun purchase every 30 days—a major legal and symbolic victory for gun rights supporters.