Pro-gun judge targeted by Newsom might have the Supreme Court on his side
It’s not generally prudent to criticize the umpire before the start of a ballgame, or the judge who’s expected to consider the constitutionality of the new law you’re proposing. But Gov. Gavin Newsom didn’t mince words Wednesday in referring to U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez of San Diego, who is likely to have the first look at gun groups’ challenge to a bill that would restrict the carrying of concealed firearms in public.
“Look forward toward Judge Benitez’s decision — it's already been written,” Newsom said at a news conference announcing the legislation, SB2 — portraying the judge as not only pro-gun but as so one-sided that he’s made up his mind and crafted his ruling long before the issue reaches his court.
He also said Benitez was “likely to overturn our assault weapons ban," a law already in Benitez’s court that prohibits sale of guns with magazines that can hold more than 10 cartridges. And the governor referred to Benitez and Judge Ryan Nelson, author of a federal appeals court ruling last year that briefly overturned California’s ban on selling semiautomatic rifles to anyone under 21, as “ideologues.”
