STOP: Are you even old enough to read this?
The unconstitutional anti-gun laws being passed in blue states like Oregon and California these days are so bad, that it’s hard to believe they’re real. The first thought that comes to mind when learning about California’s latest anti-Second Amendment law is, “Do they really think this is going to hold up in court?” In the wake of the Uvalde, TX school shooting last May, California’s woke leftwing legislature immediately passed a bill making it unlawful for firearms or firearm accessory companies to communicate with people under 18 about their products.
If you don’t live in California, you won’t be able to verify this, but we’ve confirmed it as true. If you want to read an article on a gun website these days, you must first input your age on a splash page that pops up. In other words, people who simply want to read a news article on a site like Shooting Illustrated or the NRA or Gun Owners of America are treated like they’re trying to access internet porn.
The NRA now prints this information on a splash page in front of all its affiliated websites in California:
“The NRA is forced to restrict the sending of certain materials and information into California. This restriction is made under protest, but we have to do this to comply with California’s infringement on the freedoms of speech and association of the NRA and our members, supporters, and the general public.”
The ban on marketing firearms-related merchandise applies to virtually everything gun-related, from laser sights and scopes to slings and reloading kits. Any company that markets its materials in a place where someone under 18 might see it is now subject to a $25,000 fine, per violation. And where do these companies market their merchandise? Places like Shooting Illustrated, the NRA, GOA, etc. So, the law is obviously doing untold financial damage to firearm and firearm accessory companies. It’s also a clear violation of the First Amendment.
But based on the way that the law is worded, it’s even worse than that. The people who passed the law claim that it’s based solely on “marketing,” but the language of AB2571, according to the NRA and other groups, makes it illegal to “communicate” to a person under 18 about firearms. Think about the implications of that for a second.
In rural states, most kids take their first hunter safety course when they’re 11 or 12 years old and get their first hunting license at age 12. That first instructional course teaches them to use firearms responsibly, so they don’t accidentally shoot themselves or another hunter or some poor farmer’s cow when they hear it rustling through the brush. It’s now illegal to teach a course like that to kids under 18 in California. If you taught a hunter safety course to a group of 10 kids, it could presumably amount to a fine of $250,000.
And forget about teaching a CCW course or a handgun safety course. All of these activities were made illegal when California Governor and presidential hopeful Gavin Newsom signed AB2571 into law last June.
Fortunately, the NRA, Gun Owners of America, the California Rifle & Pistol Association, and other groups are suing to overturn the law. Their chances of success in overturning it through the courts are approximately 100%.
The problem is that they might have to take it all the way to the Supreme Court to get it overturned, and that will take years. Liberals understand this, which is why they went to the trouble to pass such an unconstitutional law in the first place. If they can do financial damage to firearms and accessory companies for a few years before the law gets nuked, they still consider that a victory.
