Living Heller: Large-Capacity Magazine Bans and the Circuit Courts' Search for Clarity on Second Amendment Constitutional Scrutiny
![handle is hein.journals/sufflr54 and id is 614 raw text is: Living Heller: Large-Capacity Magazine Bans and the Circuit
Courts' Search for Clarity on Second Amendment Constitutional
Scrutiny
We are keenly aware of the perils of gun violence. The heartbreak and dev-
astation caused by criminals wielding guns cannot be overstated. And we also
understand the importance of allowing state governments the ability to fashion
solutions to curb gun violence. . . . We understand the purpose in passing this
law. But even the laudable goal of reducing gun violence must comply with the
Constitution. I
I. INTRODUCTION
The ten deadliest shootings of the past decade in the United States involved
large-capacity magazines.2 Magazine capacity dictates how many times a
shooter may fire a gun without stopping to reload.3 In response to a rise in the
frequency and lethality of mass shootings, regulating magazine capacity has be-
come a priority for gun control advocates.4 Accordingly, as of August 2020, nine
states and the District of Columbia restrict the sale of large-capacity magazines
1. Duncan v. Becerra, 970 F.3d 1133, 1168-69 (9th Cir. 2020) (2-1 decision), reh 'g en banc granted, 988
F.3d 1209 (9th Cir. 2021) (mem.).
2. See Large Capacity Magazines, GIFFORDS L. CTR. TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE (Aug. 2019),
https://giffords.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Giffords-Law-Center-Large-Capacity-Magazines.pdf [https://
perma.cc/LMJ5-CXJH} (stating prevalence of large-capacity magazine use in mass shootings).
3. See id. (defining magazine capacity); Louis Klarevas et al., The Effect of Large-Capacity Magazine
Bans on High-Fatality Mass Shootings, 1990-2017, 109 AM. J. PUB. HEALTH 1754, 1754 (2019) (describing
advantage of large magazine capacity).
4. See James Densley & Jillian Peterson, Opinion: We Analyzed 53 Years of Mass Shooting Data. Attacks
Aren't Just Increasing, They're Getting Deadlier, L.A. TIMES (Sept. 1, 2019, 10:33 AM),
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2019-09-01/mass-shooting-data-odessa-midland-increase [https://perma
.cc/R7W7-33AZ] (describing increase in frequency and lethality of mass shootings); Devin Hughes, 2020 Is
Shattering Gun Violence Records. We Must Act., WASH. POST (July 21, 2020, 2:03 PM), https://www.washing-
tonpost.com/opinions/2020/07/21 /2020-is-shattering-gun-violence-records-we-must-act/
[https://perma.cc/KSR7-69G8] (detailing rise in mass shootings and noting prior record high surpassed in July
2020); Klarevas et al., supra note 3, at 1754 (explaining one response to mass shootings involves regulating
large-capacity magazines); Large Capacity Magazines, supra note 2 (emphasizing need to regulate magazine
capacity to prevent mass shootings); Prohibit High-Capacity Magazines, EVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY
https://everytown.org/solutions/prohibit-high-capacity-magazines/ [https://perma.cc/7458-F9VD] (advocating
for magazine capacity restrictions to reduce mass-shooting injuries and deaths). This Note uses the statutory
definition of mass killings and considers a mass shooting to be three or more individuals killed in a single
incident, unless otherwise specified. See 28 U.S.C. § 530C(b)(1)(M)(i)(I) (defining mass killings).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/sufflr54&div=32&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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