The California Rifle and Pistol Association [advocacy website], the state affiliate of the National Rifle Association (NRA), filed a lawsuit [complaint, PDF] on Thursday seeking to prevent California from enforcing stricter gun laws. The complaint seeks declaratory and injunctive relief against the measure [section 32310] that limits magazine capacity to 10 rounds. The complaint argues the restrictions are in violation of the constitutional right to carry arms and due process:

Finally, Section 32310 violates the Due Process Clause. Banning magazines over ten rounds is no more likely to reduce criminal abuse of guns than banning high horsepower engines is likely to reduce criminal abuse of automobiles. To the contrary, the only thing the ban ensures is that a criminal unlawfully carrying a firearm with a magazine over ten rounds will have a (potentially devastating) advantage over his law abiding victim. And Section 32310 raises particularly acute due process concerns because it criminalizes the continued possession of magazines that were lawful when acquired.

The lawsuit is the second in a series [press release] that gun advocates plan to file against recent California gun restrictions.

Gun control remains a controversial domestic issue. The NRA in April filed the first complaint [JURIST report] challenging the California gun laws last month. Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signed legislation [JURIST report] in April expanding gun rights in the state. House File 517 gives gun owners the ability to defend themselves in public and prevents local governments from implementing their own rules. South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard in March vetoed a pair of bills [JURIST report] that would have loosened the state’s regulations on concealed carry laws. The US House of Representatives approved [JURIST report} a bill in March making it easier for certain veterans to obtain firearms