Attorney General Paxton joined a multistate coalition defending the Second Amendment and demanding the San Francisco-based United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit strike down California’s Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989 (AWCA) in the case of Miller v. Bonta. In 45 states, building “modern rifles” is standard practice by law-abiding gun owners. Calling these rifles “assault weapons” is a misnomer—they are most often used for personal protection and target and sport shooting.    

“States do not have the right to dictate what is ‘necessary’ or ‘unnecessary’ when it comes to constitutional rights, and demonizing certain rifles that are widely used nationwide is an infringement on the Second Amendment,” Attorney General Paxton said. “In fact, California has admitted that most weapons used in mass shootings were obtained legally and that many law-abiding citizens own modern rifles for personal protection. We cannot allow this clear overreach to unconstitutionally restrict Americans’ cherished Second Amendment rights.”   

Read the full amicus brief here