The California Court of Appeal reversed a lower court judge's judgment from last year, which held that disclosing sensitive data of gun owners to researchers to investigate gun violence breaches privacy rights, and concluded that the state may continue releasing such information.
Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom signed a measure in 2021 that would enable the state's Department of Justice to provide personal details of more than 4 million gun owners in the state to academic institutions that meet certain criteria in order to better analyze gun-related deaths. Information, including names, addresses, phone numbers, and criminal histories, is collected by the state with each weapon transaction so that background checks may be conducted.
While researchers may publish their conclusions based on the data, they are prohibited by law from disclosing individual gun owners' names or addresses.
Reversing the Bill's Temporary Ban
According to AP News, gun owners and groups filed suit against the state because they felt their privacy had been invaded by the law. In October 2022, Judge Katherine Bacal of the San Diego County Superior Court issued a ruling temporarily blocking the bill.
On Friday, November 17, however, a panel of three judges from California's Fourth District Court of Appeals said that the lower court's reasoning, which had temporarily halted the bill, failed to take into account the state's interest in investigating and reducing gun violence. Justice Associate Julia C. Kelety wrote an opinion remanding the case and stating that the preliminary injunction must be overturned.
A federal court had already declined to block the legislation in a different case, so Friday's verdict came as a surprise.
Rob Bonta, the state's attorney general, has said that once the data-sharing order is enforced, California will once again make this information available to researchers. "The court's decision is a victory in our ongoing efforts to prevent gun violence."
He went on to say that the legislation "serves the important goal of enabling research that supports informed policymaking" to curb gun violence.
'Important Victory for Science'
Garen Wintemute, the California Firearm Violence Research Center Director at the University of California, Davis, applauds the latest verdict. The institute has been collaborating with the state on studying gun violence. In a statement, Wintemute hailed the court's ruling as an "important victory for science."
"For more than 30 years, researchers at UC Davis and elsewhere have used the data in question to conduct vital research that simply couldn't be done anywhere else. We're glad to be able to return to that important work, which will improve health and safety here in California and across the country."
Legal challenges have been filed against various California firearms laws, including the data-sharing legislation. A federal court in October ruled that the state's assault weapon ban, which had been in place for three decades, was unconstitutional.
