A federal judge in California overturned the state’s ban on assault weapons on Friday in a ruling that compared the AR-15 to a Swiss Army knife.
U.S. District Court Judge Roger Benitez, a George W. Bush appointee ruled that the ban was unlawfully denying law-abiding Californians their right to bear arms.
The California assault rifles ban has been in place since 1989.
Judge Benitez issued a permanent injunction on Friday so the law cannot be enforced, according to CNN.
“Like the Swiss Army Knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment,” Benitez said in the ruling. “Firearms deemed as ‘assault weapons’ are fairly ordinary, popular, modern rifles.”
In the ruling Judge Benitez also accused the media of persuading their audience to believe that “the nation is awash with murderous AR-15 assault rifles. The facts, however, do not support this hyperbole, and facts matter.”
Assault-style rifles are disproportionately used in crime and have been used in most mass shooting, including the Sandy Hook massacre, Parkland High School shooting, Las Vegas concert shooting and a movie theatre shooting in Aurora, Colorado, among others.
An AR-15 was also used in a 2015 mass shooting in San Bernardino, California where 14 people were killed.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a stinging a statement on Friday after the ruling writing, comparing “the AR-15 – a weapon of war that’s used on the battlefield – to a Swiss Army Knife completely undermines the credibility of this decision and is a slap in the face to the families who’ve lost loved ones to this weapon. We’re not backing down from this fight, and we’ll continue pushing for common sense gun laws that will save lives.”
The ruling and injunction are stayed for 30 days, during which time the Attorney General may appeal and seek a stay from the Court of Appeals, according to CNN.
Attorney General Rob Bonta, called Benitez’s ruling flawed and said it would be appealed.
“There is no sound basis in law, fact, or common sense for equating assault rifles with swiss army knives — especially on Gun Violence Awareness Day and after the recent shootings in our own California communities,” his statement said.
