The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday struck down California’s ban on open carry of firearms in populated areas.
The state prohibition applied to residents of counties with populations exceeding 200,000, which accounted for 95% of all Californians. A small fraction of the population isolated in rural sectors freely exercised their Second Amendment right to bear arms, but nowhere else.
2022’s Supreme Court Bruen ruling is a gift that keeps on giving
Baird v. Bonta is the challenge filed by citizen Mark Baird against the Golden State’s gun control regime.
The panel of three judges, in a 2-1 decision, struck down the ban as violating the Second and Fourteenth Amendments through its arbitrary restrictions.
Judge Lawrence VanDyke wrote for the majority, and he leaned heavily on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision. The high court ruled that modern gun control statutes must be grounded in the nation’s history and tradition of firearm regulations.
The US has a long history of protecting gun rights, and California lawmakers know this
VanDyke explained that openly carrying firearms is a “historical practice” found all throughout U.S. history. “The historical record makes unmistakably plain that open carry is part of this Nation’s history and tradition.”
Of course, California’s anti-gunners blew a gasket as they reacted to the setback.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who has much higher aspirations, warned that the court’s decision could “return California to the days of the Wild West.” This is a familiar mantra anytime the Second Amendment comes through for gun rights.
Not to be left out, California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) piped in to defend what he termed “common sense gun laws.”
However, Kostas Moros of the Second Amendment Foundation celebrated the victory in the fight to restore fundamental rights. He warned, however, that the ruling could be reversed if the Ninth Circuit takes up the issue in full review.
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