Those of us who thought NeverTrumps were actually conservatives who just disliked Trump's flamboyance kept reminding them that one of the most consequential things a president can do is put on the federal bench judges who believe in the Constitution and the rule of law.  That these arguments were right on the money was shown late Friday afternoon, when U.S. District Court judge Roger Benitez, a Cuban-born George W. Bush appointee, ruled that California's 32-year-old ban on so-called "assault weapons" violated the Second Amendment.

A press release from the Firearms Policy Coalition, which challenged California's "assault weapon" ban, explains the ruling:

Today, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) announced that Judge Roger T. Benitez of the Southern District of California has issued an opinion in Miller v. Bonta (previously Miller v. Becerra), holding that California's tyrannical ban on so-called "assault weapons" is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. The opinion, along with other filings in this case, can be viewed at AssaultWeaponLawsuit.com.

In 2019, FPC developed and filed Miller v. Becerra, a federal Second Amendment challenge to California's Assault Weapons Control Act (AWCA) ban on common semiautomatic arms with certain characteristics, including those with ammunition magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds. Throughout the lawsuit, FPC argued that the State's ban prohibits arms that are constitutionally protected, no more lethal than other certain arms that are not banned, and commonly possessed and used for lawful purposes in the vast majority of the United States.

In the opinion, the Court ruled that many categories of firearms California bans as so-called "assault weapons" are protected by the Second Amendment, and that "[t]he Second Amendment stands as a shield from government imposition of that policy." It went on to order an injunction against "Defendant Attorney General Rob Bonta, and his officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and those persons in active concert or participation with him, and those duly sworn state peace officers and federal law enforcement officers who gain knowledge of this injunction order or know of the existence of this injunction order," preventing them "from implementing or enforcing" [multiple sections of the California penal code].

This isn't Judge Benitez's first Second Amendment rodeo.  In 2019, Judge Benitez held that "California's law prohibiting acquisition and possession of magazines able to hold any more than 10 rounds places a severe restriction on the core right of self-defense of the home such that it amounts to a destruction of the right and is unconstitutional under any level of scrutiny."  And in April of this year, Judge Benitez struck down a California law requiring people to get a background check to buy ammo, holding that this law, too, violated the Second Amendment:

Benitez argued that background checks hurt legal ammunition buyers while doing very little to prevent criminals from getting their hands on ammo. He noted that the law blocked legitimate ammo sales to law-abiding citizens about 16% of the time.

"Criminals, tyrants, and terrorists don't do background checks," the judge said. "The background check experiment defies common sense while unduly and severely burdening the Second Amendment rights of every responsible, gun-owning citizen desiring to lawfully buy ammunition."

It's very likely that Judge Benitez, having been born in Havana, Cuba, either remembers the revolution or heard about it from his parents.  Either way, he understands that the only bulwark citizens have against a tyrannical government — or any of the other dangers arrayed against them — is the right to bear arms.  And again, the fact that Benitez was appointed by George W. Bush is a reminder of why the NeverTrumps were so very wrong.

Image: AR-15.  Public Domain.