I'm shocked at his shock, I tell ya. </sarcasm>
Evidently, despite the 1989 ban, about 190,000 "assault weapons" are registered in California. The state of California is in process of appealing a 2017 ruling by Benitez against the nearly 20-year-old ban on magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds, and it's also appealing an April 2020 decision by Benitez that blocked a 2019 California law requiring background checks for anyone buying ammunition.U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez wrote: "This case is not about extraordinary weapons lying at the outer limits of second amendment protection. The banned 'assault weapons' are not bazookas, howitzers or machine guns. Those arms are dangerous and solely useful for military purposes. This is an average case about average guns used in average ways for average purposes. One is to be forgiven if one is persuaded by news media and others that the nation is awash with murderous AR-15 assault rifles. The facts, however, do not support this hyperbole, and facts matter.... In California, murder by knife occurs seven times more often than murder by rifle."
Judge Benitez, we all hope you keep fighting the good, logical, and constitutional fight. But if you ever throw your hands up in the air and give up on California, we'll have a warm Texas welcome and a cold bottle of Shiner Bock waiting for you here.