Silicon Valley gun owners armed themselves with legal arguments on Monday and headed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to try to invalidate Sunnyvale's gun crackdown law.
Gun rights advocates have so far failed to overturn Measure C, the Mercury News reported, which threatens criminal prosecution of anyone with a magazine that can hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Still, they are trying to overturn Sunnyvale's "Measure C," which passed in November 2013 with 67 percent of the vote.
A San Jose federal judge upheld the law earlier this year, and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to put it on hold while the appeal unfolds, the Mercury News reported.
The NRA sued Sunnyvale, its mayor and police chief in December 2013, arguing the new laws restricting the ownership of large capacity guns violates the Second Amendment. The plaintiffs in the suit are: Leonard Fyock, Scott Hochstetler, William Douglas, David Pearson, Brad Seifers and Rod Swanson - all Sunnyvale gun owners. In court papers, they argued Measure C "endangers public safety by giving violent criminals an advantage and decreasing the likelihood that a victim will survive a criminal attack."
To anti-gun supporters, and spearheaded by Sunnyvale's mayor Anthony Spitaleri and retired Palo Alto fire captain, the city's measure is the first step in cracking down on the country's epidemic of mass shootings.
The 9th Circuit is hearing the Sunnyvale arguments as federal courts across the country are dealing with the fallout from a 2008 Supreme Court decision that strengthened the Second Amendment right to have a firearm for self-defense, the Mercury News reported.
The 9th Circuit last week turned away the latest challenge to a recent ruling that loosened California's restrictions on carrying concealed weapons, another issue that may eventually land in the Supreme Court.
Local
California law since 2000 has banned making, selling, giving or lending magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds. Sunnyvale's law goes further, the Mercury News reported, by making it illegal to possess them in the home. It requires city residents to turn in illegal magazines or risk misdemeanor prosecution.
Cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles have warned the 9th Circuit that overturning Sunnyvale's Measure C would invalidate their campaigns to control gun violence.
