Jane Doe v. Rob Bonta

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff-Appellants (“plaintiffs”) are registered gun owners in California. They appeal from the district court’s dismissal of their action that challenged California legislation aimed at encouraging research on firearm violence. The legislation, Assembly Bill 173 (“AB 173”), enables research using databases maintained by California’s Department of Justice (“DOJ”). See 2021 Cal. Stat., ch. 253. Plaintiffs object to the dissemination of data contained in those databases. The relevant data consists of identifying information about purchasers of firearms and ammunition, as well as of persons who hold permits to carry concealed weapons (“CCWs”). AB 173 requires DOJ to provide this information to a research center at University of California- Davis, and gives DOJ discretion to disseminate this information to other accredited research institutions. Cal. Penal Code §§ 11106(d), 30352(b)(2). Currently, the only approved institution is housed at Stanford University.

DOE V. BONTA

Plaintiffs principally challenged AB 173 as violating their Fourteenth Amendment right to informational privacy and their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.…