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A U.S. appeals court ruled Wednesday that California鈥檚 ban on the sale of semiautomatic weapons to adults under 21 is unconstitutional.

In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Wednesday the law violates the Second Amendment right to bear arms and a San Diego judge should have blocked what it called 鈥渁n almost total ban on semiautomatic centerfire rifles鈥� for young adults.

鈥淎merica would not exist without the heroism of the young adults who fought and died in our revolutionary army,鈥� Judge Ryan Nelson wrote. 鈥淭oday we reaffirm that our Constitution still protects the right that enabled their sacrifice: the right of young adults to keep and bear arms.鈥�

The Firearms Policy Coalition, which brought the case, said the ruling makes it optimistic age-based gun bans will be overturned in other courts.

Adam Winkler, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, said the decision is a clear sign of how courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court which has a major gun case before it, are expanding gun rights.

鈥淔ederal judges can read the tea leaves,鈥� Mr. Winkler said. 鈥淚n the coming years, the courts seem certain to strike down numerous gun safety measures in the name of the 2nd Amendment. This 9th Circuit ruling is a harbinger of things to come.鈥�

The ruling, however, was not a total victory for gun rights advocates.

They also sought an injunction blocking the state from requiring a hunting license for adults under 21聽鈥� who are not in the military or law enforcement聽鈥� to purchase rifles or shotguns.

Handgun sales to those under 21 were already prohibited when the hunting license requirement was passed in 2018 after some of the nation鈥檚 worst mass shootings were committed by young adults using rifles, including the Valentine鈥檚 Day slayings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

The following year, the Legislature acted to address what they saw as a loophole after an April 2019 synagogue shooting in San Diego County.

A 19-year-old armed with a semiautomatic rifle he had just purchased with a hunting license killed a 60-year-old woman and injured three others, including the rabbi and an 8-year-old girl at Chabad of Poway.

The state passed the law banning sales of semiautomatic centerfire rifles to anyone under 21. There were exemptions for police or military troops but not for those with hunting licenses.

Matthew Jones, a 20-year-old at the time from Santee in San Diego County, originally sued saying he wanted a gun to defend himself and other lawful purposes but didn鈥檛 want to obtain a hunting license.

His lawsuit, which had been filed before the under-age ban on semiautomatic weapons, was amended to also challenge that law.

The suit said the state had 鈥渨hittled down [the] already inapplicable and irrelevant hunting license 鈥榚xemption鈥櫬犫�� the only exemption that is even possible for an ordinary, law abiding young adult who does not wish to enter into a highly dangerous career in law enforcement or the military聽鈥� by prohibiting an entire class of firearms.鈥�

The 9th Circuit ruled the hunting license requirement was reasonable for increasing public safety through 鈥渟ensible firearm control.鈥�
But it said an outright ban on semiautomatic rifles for those under 21 went too far.

鈥淚t鈥檚 one thing to say that young adults must take a course and purchase a hunting license before obtaining certain firearms,鈥� Judge Nelson wrote. 鈥淏ut to say that they must become police officers or join the military? ... It is a blanket ban for everyone except police officers and servicemembers.鈥�

Judge Nelson and Judge Kenneth Lee, who ruled in the majority, were part of Republican President Donald Trump鈥檚 wave of conservative-approved nominees that reshaped the famously liberal court.

Two years ago, Judge Lee authored a 2-1 decision that threw out California鈥檚 ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines, saying the law violated the U.S. Constitution鈥檚 protection of the right to bear firearms. That ruling was later overturned by the court鈥檚 7-4 review of the decision.

A dissent was written by U.S. District Court Judge Sidney Stein, who was assigned to the panel from the Southern District of New York. Judge Stein was nominated to that court by Democratic President Bill Clinton.

Judge Stein said he would have upheld the lower court鈥檚 decision not to block either law.

Judge Stein said the regulation did not place a 鈥渟evere burden鈥� on gun ownership rights for young adults and noted they could get semiautomatic rifles from family members or borrow them from others.

He also said the majority failed to consider the disproportionate amount of violent crime committed by those under 21 who have relatively less mature cognitive development.

Democratic Sen. Anthony Portantino of La Ca帽ada Flintridge, who wrote both laws, said he was disappointed the semiautomatic ban was struck down but was pleased the hunting license requirement survived.

鈥淚 remain committed to keeping deadly weapons out of the wrong hands,鈥� Mr. Portantino said. 鈥淪tudent safety on our campuses is something we should all rally behind and sensible gun control is part of that solution.鈥�

Attorney General Rob Bonta鈥檚 office said it was reviewing the decision. In a statement, a spokesperson said it was committed to 鈥渄efending California鈥檚 commonsense gun laws.鈥�

This story was reported by The Associated Press.