Gun advocates sue in LA to overturn law prohibiting sales to minors

Gun rights groups Friday filed suit in Los Angeles seeking to block the further implementation of a new law banning the marketing of guns to minors by manufacturers and others in the firearms industry.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 2571 into law last week under an emergency order to have the statute go into effect immediately. Any promotion of firearms to those under 18 years of age may lead to fines of $25,000 per incident, it states.

“This law is a clear First Amendment violation of speech and assembly,” said Chuck Michel, president and general counsel of the Fullerton-based California Rifle & Pistol Association, among plaintiffs in the suit.

“It’s really an attempt to wipe out the next generation of hunters and shooters,” he said. “Politicians in Sacramento are not even trying to hide their disdain for the ‘gun culture,’ which they neither understand nor support. They want to wipe it out.”

The lawsuit filed in federal court against state Attorney General Rob Bonta alleges that the law violates free speech rights under the First Amendment. Other plaintiffs include Junior Shooters — publisher of a youth shooting magazine — and such groups as the Second Amendment Foundation.

Representatives from Bonta’s office could not be reached for immediate comment.

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