PC 32310:
Large-Capacity Magazine Ban

California Penal Code Section 32310 ^[1] prohibits any person from manufacturing, importing into the state, keeping for sale, offering or exposing for sale, giving, lending, buying, or receiving any large-capacity magazine. A large-capacity magazine is defined in Penal Code Section 16740 ^[2] as any ammunition feeding device with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.

Legislative History

California first banned the manufacture, sale, and transfer of large-capacity magazines in 2000 under SB 23. However, the original law grandfathered magazines lawfully possessed before the ban. In 2016, voters approved Proposition 63, and the Legislature passed SB 1446, which together eliminated the grandfathering provision and required persons who could not lawfully possess large-capacity magazines beginning July 1, 2017, to remove them from California, sell them to a licensed firearms dealer, or surrender them to law enforcement for destruction before July 1, 2017.

Duncan v. Bonta

The elimination of the grandfathering provision triggered a legal challenge in Duncan v. Becerra (now Duncan v. Bonta). In March 2019, Judge Roger Benitez of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California struck down Section 32310 as unconstitutional, resulting in a brief period known as "Freedom Week" (March 29 to April 5, 2019) during which Californians could legally purchase standard-capacity magazines.

The case then traveled through multiple rounds of appellate proceedings. The Ninth Circuit initially affirmed Judge Benitez's ruling through a panel decision but reversed through an en banc panel. Following the Supreme Court's 2022 decision in NYSRPA v. Bruen, ^[3] the Court vacated the en banc decision and remanded for reconsideration. On September 22, 2023, Judge Benitez again struck down Section 32310 in its entirety under the Bruen framework. In 2023 the en banc court granted the State's request for a partial stay pending appeal, which did not reach the ban on possessing magazines acquired when acquiring them was lawful.

On March 20, 2025, the Ninth Circuit issued its en banc opinion, upholding the large-capacity magazine ban in a 7-4 decision. ^[4] The majority held that LCMs are "optional accessories to firearms" and are not "arms" protected by the Second Amendment. The court also found the ban consistent with historical traditions of regulating dangerous materials, citing Founding-era gunpowder storage laws.

Plaintiffs filed a petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court on August 15, 2025 (Docket No. 25-198). ^[5] The Court distributed the petition for conference repeatedly through the June 29, 2026 conference without granting or denying review. On June 30, 2026, the Court granted certiorari in Grant v. Higgins (No. 25-566) and Viramontes v. Cook County (No. 25-238), consolidated cases presenting the question whether AR-15 platform rifles in common use are protected by the Second Amendment, and Duncan appears to be held pending that decision. It has not been denied. The acquisition restrictions remain enforceable, while the ban on possessing magazines acquired when acquiring them was lawful, which includes Freedom Week magazines, has never taken effect, and the Ninth Circuit partially stayed its mandate to keep that status pending the Supreme Court's disposition of the petition in No. 25-198.^[5]

Freedom Week Magazines

The possession ban has never taken effect for magazines acquired when acquiring them was lawful, including lawful Freedom Week acquisitions. There is no registration requirement, but owners should retain receipts or other documentation of the acquisition date.

Penalties

A possession violation under Section 32310(c) is punishable as either an infraction (fine not exceeding $100 for each magazine) or a misdemeanor (imprisonment in county jail for up to one year, a fine not exceeding $100 for each magazine, or both). The statute does not distinguish between first and subsequent violations. For possession under Section 32310(c), prosecution as an infraction or misdemeanor is at the discretion of the charging authority. Manufacturing large-capacity magazines is a wobbler offense under PC 32310(a). As a felony, it is punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Penal Code Section 1170. As a misdemeanor, it is punishable by imprisonment in county jail for up to one year.

See also: Duncan v. Bonta: Large-Capacity Magazine Challenge

See also: "Freedom Week" Magazines: What March 29 - April 5, 2019 Changed