A federal judge has ruled that California cannot enforce a law requiring people to undergo background checks to buy ammunition, declaring it unconstitutional.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez in San Diego said the gun control measure has “no historical pedigree” and violates the Second Amendment rights of citizens.

“A sweeping background check requirement imposed every time a citizen needs to buy ammunition is an outlier that our ancestors would have never accepted for a citizen,” wrote Benitez, a President George W. Bush appointee. 

The judge also criticized the number of law-abiding gun owners who were rejected after undergoing background checks and prevented from buying ammo.

Benitez’s ruling relied on the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 2022 decision that expanded gun rights nationwide. In binding precedent, the high court said that judges must assess whether a proposed firearm regulation is “consistent with this nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation” when confronted with decisions that can impact gun rights.

The case is Rhode et al. v. Bonta. 

Reuters contributed to this report.

Chris Pandolfo is a writer for Fox News Digital. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @ChrisCPandolfo.