(Reuters) -A divided federal appeals court on Thursday said California's first-of-its-kind law requiring firearm owners to undergo background checks to buy ammunition is unconstitutional, violating the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

A voter-backed California law requiring background checks for people who buy bullets is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday in a blow to the state’s efforts to combat gun violence.

A California appeals court ruled on Thursday that a state law requiring people to undergo background checks each time they purchase ammunition is unconstitutional. In a 2-1 decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the law “meaningfully constrains” Second Amendment rights,