SAN FRANCISCO – (INT) - A U.S. federal appeals court has put on hold a judge's ruling this month to overturn California's 32-year-old ban on assault weapons.

A three-judge panel in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay of U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez's June 4th order, after California officials had appealed the federal judge's decision to strike down the ban on assault-style weapons.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who had appealed against the decision to overturn the ban, said the state's assault weapons laws would remain in effect while appellate proceedings continue.

Benitez, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, had overturned the ban, describing it as a "failed experiment" and prompting scathing criticism from the state's governor and attorney general.

Story Date: July 6, 2021