Freedom Week is what California gun owners call the roughly seven-day stretch between March 29 and April 5, 2019, when a federal court order temporarily struck down the state’s ban on large-capacity firearm magazines and residents could legally buy magazines holding more than 10 rounds for the first time in years. The window closed when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay, and the legal fight over those magazines has since reached the U.S. Supreme Court’s doorstep.
What Freedom Week Was and When It Happened
On March 29, 2019, U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez ruled that California Penal Code Section 32310, the state’s ban on large-capacity magazines, violated the Second Amendment. He issued an injunction blocking enforcement.1United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Duncan v. Bonta For the next several days, California gun shops and online retailers were flooded with orders. Hundreds of thousands of magazines reportedly changed hands before the Ninth Circuit stayed the injunction on April 5, 2019.
At the time, the California Attorney General’s office acknowledged that residents who lawfully acquired large-capacity magazines during that window could keep them while the appeal played out. That statement, paired with the speed at which gun owners moved to stock up, is what cemented Freedom Week in California firearms culture.
The Magazine Ban Behind It
California first banned manufacturing, importing, and selling magazines over 10 rounds. Then, in 2016, the legislature passed Senate Bill 1446 and voters approved Proposition 63, extending the ban to simple possession starting July 1, 2017.1United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Duncan v. Bonta People who had legally owned the magazines for years were suddenly required to remove them from the state, sell them to a licensed dealer, or surrender them to law enforcement.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 32310
That possession ban is what Virginia Duncan, several other gun owners, and the California Rifle & Pistol Association challenged in Duncan v. Bonta, the case that produced Freedom Week and has spent the better part of a decade in the courts.
How the Window Closed
California appealed immediately. The Ninth Circuit’s April 5, 2019 stay put the ban back in force, and no new large-capacity magazines could be legally purchased or imported into California after that date. The case then moved through a three-judge panel, an en banc rehearing, a remand from the Supreme Court following its 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, and another en banc hearing.
On March 20, 2025, the Ninth Circuit sitting en banc upheld California’s magazine ban, reversing Judge Benitez’s ruling for good.1United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Duncan v. Bonta Several judges dissented, and the plaintiffs went to the Supreme Court.
Can You Still Keep Freedom Week Magazines?
This is the practical question most people searching Freedom Week want answered, and the honest answer in 2026 is that the legal ground has shifted. During the years of litigation, the Attorney General’s statement that Freedom Week purchases could be kept while the appeal was pending gave gun owners a reasonable basis for continued possession.
That basis is weaker now. Section 32310(c) makes possession of a large-capacity magazine unlawful “regardless of the date the magazine was acquired.”2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 32310 With the district court’s injunction reversed and no new court order shielding Freedom Week purchases, the statute’s text does not carve out an exception for them. Whether prosecutors would actually pursue someone who bought during a period a federal court declared legal is a separate question from what the statute says. Anyone still holding Freedom Week magazines should expect the picture to shift again depending on what the Supreme Court does, and talking to a California firearms attorney is the safest move for anyone uncertain about their situation.
Penalties If the Ban Applies to You
Possession of a large-capacity magazine can be charged as either an infraction or a misdemeanor. An infraction carries a fine of up to $100 per magazine. A misdemeanor can bring a fine of up to $100 per magazine, up to one year in county jail, or both.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 32310
Manufacturing, importing, or selling large-capacity magazines carries heavier penalties, up to one year in county jail or a term under California’s realignment sentencing provisions.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 32310 Certain groups, including law enforcement officers and licensed dealers operating under specific permits, are exempt.
Where the Case Stands Now
The plaintiffs filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to review the Ninth Circuit’s decision. As of late March 2026, that petition (docket number 25-198) has been distributed for conference, but the Court has not announced whether it will hear the case.3Supreme Court of the United States. 25-198 – Virginia Duncan, et al. v. Rob Bonta If the Court grants review, it would be the first time the justices directly address whether states can ban commonly owned magazine capacities. If the Court declines, the Ninth Circuit ruling stands and California’s ban remains in place without further challenge in this case.