A federal district court judge ruled that a California law restricting handgun-related speech most likely violates the First Amendment. The judge left the law in place while the legal battle continues. (The Calguns Foundation, July 16, 2015)
A consultant in the case, UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh, The Volokh Conspiracy in The Washington Post, July 17, 2015, writes that the law was enacted in in 1932 to prohibit the display of handguns or their representations in gun stores where they can be seen from the outside. Volokh says the government’s case is based on the theories that it can ban speech some think offensive and that the law serves the government’s interest in reducing gun violence.