Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a podium. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
The complaint, filed in federal court in the Southern District of California, compared Byrna weapons to Tasers and stun guns, which gained Second Amendment protections in high-profile Supreme Court cases over the past two decades.
A 2008 case, District of Columbia v. Heller, found that the right to bear arms "extends, prima facie, to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding." A 2016 case, Caetano v. Massachusetts, addressed stun guns specifically, finding that a lower court improperly held that a woman did not have the right to own the more modern-day weapon under the Second Amendment.
California state law bans the purchase of "tear gas" and categorizes Bryna's non-lethal ammunition as that.
NRA SUES CALIFORNIA OVER BAN ON GLOCK-STYLE FIREARMS: 'VIOLATES THE SECOND AMENDMENT'
Protesters stand during the March for Our Lives rally for gun restrictions on March 24, 2018, in Los Angeles, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Ganz said part of Byrna's Second Amendment argument included that the self-defense products were in common usage.
"There are over three-quarters of a million Byrnas that have been sold over the last six years, so they’re in very common usage," Ganz said.
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In recent years, Newsom has signed dozens of bills designed to rein in gun purchases and possession, including in 2023 when he signed nearly two dozen bills that included expanding background checks on gun purchasers and further restricting who could own a firearm.
Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom's office for comment on the lawsuit.
Ashley Oliver is a reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business, covering the Justice Department and legal affairs. Email story tips to ashley.oliver@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/californias-crackdown-less-lethal-weapons-sparks-2a-lawsuit-targeting-newsom-administration