A US federal judge has overturned a three-decade ban on assault weapons in California.

US District Judge Roger Benitez of San Diego ruled on Friday (June 4) that the ban violates California residents' constitutional right to bear arms, CBS News has reported.

The sale of assault weapons has been prohibited in the state since 1989, but was challenged in a 2019 lawsuit against California's attorney general by gun advocacy groups such as the San Diego County Gun Owners.

Now, Benitez - of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California - has ruled that California's definition of illegal military-style rifles unlawfully deprives law-abiding state residents the right to buy weapons that are available in other US states.

In his ruling, Benitez stated that "under no level of heightened scrutiny can the law survive", adding: "Like the Swiss Army knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment. Good for both home and battle."

The judge also described the ban as a "30-year-old failed experiment".

Per the New York Post, Governor Gavin Newsom has slammed the ruling, describing it as "a direct threat to public safety and the lives of innocent Californians, period".

Newsom, a Democrat, has vowed to challenge the new 94-page ruling, and said Benitez's "Swiss Army Knife" comparison "completely undermines the credibility of this decision and is a slap in the face to the families who’ve lost loved ones to this weapon".

Benitez also downplayed the danger associated with assault weapons, pointing out that there are 185,569 of these arms registered in California despite the ban.

"The banned 'assault weapons' are not bazookas, howitzers, or machine guns. Those arms are dangerous and solely useful for military purposes," he added.

Elsewhere in the ruling, Benitez said: "This is an average case about average guns used in average ways for average purposes."

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has also vowed to appeal the ruling, calling the decision "fundamentally flawed".

Bonta added that assault weapons are disproportionately used in both attacks on police and mass shootings. He added that their restriction within the state is "important public safety interests".

Featured image credit: 24BY36 / Alamy

US federal judge overturns California's three-decade ban on assault weapons