Gun owners' rights advocates are free to publish the home addresses and telephone numbers of California state lawmakers who voted for firearms restrictions, a federal judge decided Monday.
It is the second time in a week that judges decided that California lawmakers went too far in protecting the private information of public figures.
U.S. Chief District Judge Lawrence O'Neill of Fresno issued a preliminary injunction Monday blocking a state law that lets public officials demand that their private information be removed from the internet if they fear for their safety or the safety of their families.
O'Neill ruled that the state law is too broad and violates the advocates' free speech rights. Publishing the lawmakers' personal information "is a form of political protest," he said in a 38-page opinion.
Sac Bee, 2/27/17. Here is Judge O'Neill's ruling from the Washington Post. For more background, see Dan Morain's opinion on the ruling and the blogger who published the addresses of 40 state legislators who voted in favor of legislation requiring people who buy bullets to go through brief background checks first.