The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a California law requiring background checks for those purchasing ammunition in a 2-1 ruling. The majority opinion of the justices was that the law violated citizens’ constitutional right to purchase and bear arms. On the other hand, gun control activists and members of the U.S. Justice Department maintain that because background checks on individuals purchasing guns have been upheld as constitutional, the same should be applied to ammunition.

Guns are great, but…

I’ve grown up in California — one of the states with the most powerful gun laws in the country. Still, schools run active shooter drills. There are police and security stationed around private and public schools. And it seems that every other week there’s some kind of gun-related incident on the news.

So while I understand that guns can be crucial for self-defense and useful for hunting and other activities, I also understand what it means to fear guns in a setting that should be safe — my own school.

My thoughts

Background checks are some of the most useful tools to prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands — so why, if these effective and constitutional regulations are in place for guns, should the same checks not be applied to ammunition that makes these weapons work? If anything, checks on ammunition should be more comprehensive, because without it guns are rendered useless.

This court ruling will have broad effects, and I urge everyone to remain aware of related news in the future.