Newsom Blasts Judge As 'Wholly-Owned Subsidiary Of Gun Lobby' After Weapons Ruling

In a no-holds-barred rebuke of the federal judge who recently overturned Californias assault weapons ban, Gov. Gavin Newsom lambasted U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez on Thursday as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the gun lobby and the National Rifle Association.

We need to call this federal judge out, the Democratic governor told reporters as he announced the states decision to appeal Benitezs ruling. He will continue to do damage. Mark my words.

Benitez struck down Californias three-decade-old ban on certain types of semi-automatic rifles, including the popular AR-15, last week. Gun control advocates skewered Benitez for the decision , while Newsom called it a direct threat to public safety and the lives of innocent Californians, period.

Weapons of war dont belong on our streets.

CAs assault weapon ban has saved countless lives we will do everything in our power to keep it in place. https://t.co/Kgczf5oba5

Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 10, 2021","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Gavin Newsom","author_url":"https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom","cache_age":86400,"description":"Weapons of war dont belong on our streets.CAs assault weapon ban has saved countless lives we will do everything in our power to keep it in place. https://t.co/Kgczf5oba5 Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 10, 2021\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Gavin Newsom on 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Weapons of war dont belong on our streets.

CAs assault weapon ban has saved countless lives we will do everything in our power to keep it in place. https://t.co/Kgczf5oba5
Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 10, 2021

In his decision, Benitez likened the AR-15 to a Swiss Army knife and described it as a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment.

This case is not about extraordinary weapons lying at the outer limits of Second Amendment protection, he wrote. This is an average case about average guns used in average ways for average purposes.

According to a March analysis by Newsweek , 26% of the last 80 mass shootings in the U.S., including some of the deadliest, involved the use of an AR-15, which was designed according to its makers to have maximum wound effect .

Yet Benitez wrote in his decision that the harm of an assault rifle being used in a mass shooting is an infinitesimally rare event.

More people have died from the COVID-19 vaccine than mass shootings in California, he wrote without citing evidence.

Benitez also asserted that injuries from firearms like the AR-15 which are banned as assault weapons are no different from other firearms that are common and lawful to own.

Physicians, however, have said otherwise.

Dr. Heather Sher, a Florida radiologist who has treated many gunshot wound victims, including the teenagers shot at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, said in an op-ed that year that the bullets fired by an AR-15 travel at a higher velocity and are far more lethal than routine bullets fired from a handgun.

A typical AR-15 bullet leaves the barrel traveling almost three times faster than and imparting more than three times the energy of a typical 9mm bullet from a handgun, Sher wrote. An AR-15 rifle outfitted with a magazine with 50 rounds allows many more lethal bullets to be delivered quickly without reloading.

Benitez a 2003 George W. Bush appointee is no stranger to controversy, particularly on the gun control front. In 2017, he reversed a state ban on the sale of large-capacity magazines holding more than 10 bullets; and in 2020, he blocked a law requiring background checks for people wanting to buy ammunition.

California is currently appealing both decisions.

We need to call this federal judge out, Newsom said. He will continue to do damage. Mark my words. https://t.co/sad6Zob9QD pic.twitter.com/vn4tfp9L3e

POLITICO (@politico) June 10, 2021","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"POLITICO","author_url":"https://twitter.com/politico","cache_age":86400,"description":"We need to call this federal judge out, Newsom said. He will continue to do damage. 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We need to call this federal judge out, Newsom said. He will continue to do damage. Mark my words. https://t.co/sad6Zob9QD pic.twitter.com/vn4tfp9L3e
POLITICO (@politico) June 10, 2021

On Thursday, Newsom described Benitez as a stone-cold ideologue and shill of the gun industry.

This is a very focused agenda to work through this judge, where the decisions already made before its even presented, who writes press releases on behalf of the gun lobby, the governor said.

Gun rights groups were quick to criticize Newsoms choice of words.

The Firearms Policy Coalition said in a statement that it condemns Governor Newsoms outrageous and callous personal attacks on the honorable Federal District Court Judge Roger T. Benitez.

Gavin Newsoms Department of Justice had the opportunity to present its facts in court and failed to do so, California Rifle and Pistol Association President C.D. Michel told Politico . Now that Judge Benitez ruled against Gavin Newsom, he is shamefully attacking a federal judge with politicized falsehoods because Newsom got a result he didnt like. Newsom can stomp his feet all he wants, but the Constitution will win the day.

Benitez had issued an automatic 30-stay of his ruling overturning the assault weapons ban, acknowledging the states inevitable appeal.

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The case now heads to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and could possibly end up before the Supreme Court, which currently has a 6-3 conservative majority.

There is a lot on the line, Newsom said Thursday.