Voter ID law in conservative California city passes major hurdle



A law requiring voters to present identification in one California city has overcome a major obstacle after a judge tossed a state lawsuit against it.

On Friday, Orange County Superior Court Judge Nico Dourbetas granted a motion to dismiss the lawsuit against Huntington Beach filed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta earlier this year. The lawsuit challenged the validity of Measure A, an amendment to the city charter that requires voter ID for municipal elections beginning in 2026 and that passed with 53% of the vote, the LA Times reported.

Bonta previously argued that Measure A "disproportionately burdens low-income voters, voters of color, young or elderly voters, and people with disabilities."

The lawsuit also claimed it violates SB1174, which bars all local governments in California from "requiring a person to present identification for the purpose of voting or submitting a ballot." Far-left Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law in late September.

But Dourbetas ruled that the Huntington Beach ordinance and state law are not in "conflict."

"The City’s Charter is permissive ... and thus currently presents no conflict with state elections law," he said, according to the Orange County Register.

'We anticipate this fight isn’t over.'

Huntington Beach officials have since praised the ruling.

City Attorney Michael Gates called it "a massive black eye to the state of California."

"What the state of California needs to know, if they haven’t found out already, is Huntington Beach is not going to be intimidated or deterred," he said in a statement.

Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark claimed that her city and the judge's ruling stood up to "attacks by Governor Newsom and the State."

"This is a great day for our City," she and other officials said in a collective statement, according to the Times.

However, they likewise acknowledged that an appeal is likely.

"We anticipate this fight isn’t over," Gates said.

"We will not back down and will continue to fight for the City," added Van Der Mark.

Indeed, AG Bonta's office indicated as much in a statement about the ruling on Friday. "The court’s decision does not address the merits of the case. We continue to believe that Huntington Beach’s voter ID policy clearly conflicts with state law, and will respond appropriately in court," the statement said.

This is hardly the first time Huntington Beach, a Republican stronghold in otherwise purple Orange County, has defied woke policies in California. Folks there fought back against lockdown measures in 2020 and voted in March to outlaw the Pride flag on municipal buildings.

Earlier this month, they elected Lisa Lane Barnes to serve as city clerk. Lane Barnes, who was endorsed by the Republican Party of Orange County, made voter ID a central campaign issue.

H/T: Mario Nawfal

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Federal Judge Stops Newsom’s Assault On Political Speech

The decision is a significant victory for the First Amendment, which has been under constant assault from leftists like the California governor.

California leaks gun owners' names, home addresses in massive privacy breach



California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday released private information on thousands of gun owners Monday in a major breach of privacy.

The California Department of Justice launched its 2022 Firearms Dashboard Portal Monday to "improve transparency and information sharing for firearms-related data." However, the website went live with publicly accessible files that included identifying information on Californians who hold concealed carry permits.

The leaked files included the gun owner's full name, home address, date of birth, and date their concealed weapons permit was issued, the Reload reported. It also showed the type of permit issued, indicating if the permit holder is a judge or member of law enforcement.

A database for Los Angeles County contained 244 judge permits, according to the Reload. These files contained the personal information of each permit holder. Additionally, there was data on seven custodial officers, 63 people with a place of employment permit, and 420 reserve officers.

Overall, 2,891 people in Los Angeles County with standard concealed carry licenses had their personal data compromised in the leak, the Reload reported.

Video reviewed by the outlet reportedly showed that the databases published by California's Department of Justice were easily downloaded from the website.

\u201cCalifornia appears to have leaked the names, addresses, and ages of every person in the state who holds a concealed carry permit. That includes judges, cops, and regular civilians. \n\nI was able to review the Los Angeles data and it's extensive. https://t.co/uiooUyFv5A\u201d
— Stephen Gutowski (@Stephen Gutowski) 1656435808

Posts on social media first called attention to the data leak. A Reddit thread posted by user lokiriver on Monday described how information on firearms safety certificates was also leaked, which included dates of birth and driver's license numbers belonging to gun owners.

\u201cIt *appears* they have now removed the ability to download data, but unclear if any other security weaknesses remain. \n\nThis is totally unacceptable @AGRobBonta. You need to be transparent about what happened and what measures you are taking now.\u201d
— Konstadinos Moros (@Konstadinos Moros) 1656393727

As of Tuesday, California's firearms dashboard has been taken down and an error message appears when users attempt to visit the website.

The California Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a press release announcing the launch of the firearms database, Attorney General Bonta said "transparency" is important to build trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.

“As news of tragic mass shootings continue to dominate the news cycle, leaving many with feelings of fear and uncertainty, we must do everything we can to prevent gun violence," Bonta said. "One of my continued priorities is to better provide information needed to help advance efforts that strengthen California’s commonsense gun laws. Today’s announcement puts power and information into the hands of our communities by helping them better understand the role and potential dangers of firearms within our state.”

The press release said the California DOJ would "balance its duties to provide gun violence and firearms data to support research efforts while protecting the personal identifying information in the data the Department collects and maintains."

Gun rights activists with the California Rifle & Pistol Association blasted the data breach and told the Reload they were considering legal action against the state.

“Vindictive sore loser bureaucrats have endangered people’s lives and invited conflict by illegally releasing confidential private information,” Chuck Michel, CRPA president, said. “CRPA is working with several legislators and sheriffs to determine the extent of the damage caused by DOJ’s doxing of law abiding gun owners. Litigation is likely.”

California bans state travel to Florida and four other states over Fairness in Women's Sports laws



California has now banned state employee travel to Florida and four more states because of laws that purportedly discriminate against LGBTQ Americans, the state attorney general announced Monday.

Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta restricted state-funded travel to Arkansas, Florida, Montana, North Dakota, and West Virginia, adding these states to a list that now includes 17 states where state-sponsored travel is prohibited.

"When states discriminate against LGBTQ+ Americans, California law requires our office to take action," Bonta said. "These new additions to the state-funded travel restrictions list are about exactly that. It's been 52 years to the day since the Stonewall Riots began, but that same fight remains all too alive and well in this country. Rather than focusing on solving real issues, some politicians think it's in their best interest to demonize trans youth and block life-saving care.

"Make no mistake: We're in the midst of an unprecedented wave of bigotry and discrimination in this country — and the State of California is not going to support it."

The laws Bonta claims "demonize trans youth and block life-saving care" are fairness in women's sports bills, legislation that would prevent men who identify as transgender women from competing on sports teams associated with their self-proclaimed gender identity. California lawmakers banned nonessential travel to states that adopted or are considering such laws in 2016, a list that includes Alabama, Idaho, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas.

Bonta's office identified fairness in women's sports laws in Florida, Montana, Arkansas, and West Virginia as cause for the travel ban.

The attorney general also called out Arkansas for passing a law that makes transgender surgeries and cross-sex hormone prescriptions illegal for minors and North Carolina for adopting a law that permits certain publicly funded student organizations, say a religious group, to restrict LGBT students from joining by citing conscience rights without losing funding.

Reacting to the announcement, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' office ridiculed California and accused "politicians in Sacramento" of failing to stand up for women's rights.

"Congratulations to California for somehow managing to create a new way to politicize its bureaucracy," DeSantis press secretary Christina Pushaw said. "The bill Governor DeSantis signed is not discriminatory; in fact, it's the opposite — the legislation ensures that women's sports remain fair. On the contrary, allowing biological males to compete in women's sports is discriminatory, because it puts girls and women at a disadvantage based on immutable, innate characteristics.

"It is disappointing that the politicians calling the shots in Sacramento are not willing to stand up for women and girls in California."

Pushaw added that despite the ban on state-funded travel, Florida will continue to welcome any Californians who wish to travel for tourism or to become new residents.

"In fact, I am originally from California myself — but I am thrilled to live in Florida now, because progressive dogma has turned my home state into a nightmare of crime, unemployment, closed schools, failing businesses, and high taxes," Pusahw said. "I respectfully suggest that California's government focus on fixing the problems in their own state instead of worrying about Florida."