Bonta

BACKGROUND

In 2022, Junior Sports Magazines Inc. and other plaintiffs (together, “Junior

Sports”) challenged the constitutionality of a new California law that regulated the

advertising and marketing of firearm-related products to minors. Junior Sports, 80

F.4th at 1114; see CAL. BUS. & PROF. CODE § 22949.80. Junior Sports—which

publishes the youth-oriented firearm magazine Junior Shooters—argued that the

statute improperly burdened free speech under the First and Fourteenth Amendments

and moved for a preliminary injunction. The challenged statute has several

components:

First, subsection (a) of the statute prohibits “firearm industry members” from

“advertising, marketing, or arranging for” communications “offering or promoting

2 24-4050 any firearm-related product in a manner . . . attractive to minors.” § 22949.80(a)

(cleaned up). Second, subsection (b) of the law prohibits firearm industry members

from using or compiling the personal information of minors “for the purpose of

marketing or advertising to th[e] minor any firearm-related product.” § 22949.80(b).

Third, the law provides for a civil penalty of up to $25,000 per…