{"id":52112,"date":"2026-01-03T10:48:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T16:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=52112"},"modified":"2026-01-03T21:50:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T03:50:02","slug":"appeals-court-strikes-down-californias-open-carry-ban-for-most-of-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=52112","title":{"rendered":"Appeals court strikes down California\u2019s open carry ban for most of state\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A federal appeals court ruled Friday that California\u2019s open carry ban<\/u><\/a> in most parts of the state infringes on the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel\u2002voted 2-1<\/u><\/a> that the ban runs afoul of the Supreme Court\u2019s expanded Second Amendment test<\/u><\/a>, which requires gun control measures be consistent with the nation\u2019s historical tradition of firearm regulation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke,<\/u><\/a> writing for the majority, said it was a straightforward case since open carry wasn\u2019t banned at the nation\u2019s founding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cQuite the opposite: in antebellum America it was clear that open carry was widely seen as entitled to special constitutional protection,\u201d VanDyke wrote. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

California banned open carry in counties where the population exceeds 200,000 people, which covers where the vast majority of Californians live. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark Baird originally sued over the law in 2019. His case has zigzagged through the courts for years and was bolstered by the Supreme Court\u2019s expansion of Second Amendment rights in 2022. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That expansion has led judges to strike down an array of gun laws in states across the country.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Supreme Court is poised to provide further guidance on the bounds of its new test in two Second Amendment cases this term, including when it reviews<\/u><\/a> another 9th Circuit decision upholding a Hawaii gun law. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn our Nation\u2019s history and tradition, open carry was widely recognized as being central to the Second Amendment right,\u201d VanDyke wrote in invalidating California\u2019s law. \u201cA ban on that which is at the core of the Second Amendment is not a \u2018minimal burden\u2019 on the Second Amendment right.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

VanDyke has sided against the state on its gun restrictions before. Last year, VanDyke caused a stir when he dissented from a decision upholding California\u2019s large-capacity magazine ban via a firearms demonstration video<\/u><\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, VanDyke was joined in the majority by U.S. Circuit Judge Kenneth Lee. President Trump\u2002<\/u><\/a>appointed both during his first term. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a separate opinion, Lee accused California of misleading citizens in small counties, where the ban doesn\u2019t apply, about how they can receive an open carry permit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut that appears to be the very point\u2014California tries to hide the fact that citizens in those counties have a right to open carry their weapon under the law,\u201d Lee wrote. \u201cOur constitutional rights, however, should not hinge on a Where\u2019s Waldo quiz.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the court kept the open carry licensing regime for small counties intact and ruled Baird had waived his right to raise some of those arguments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In dissent, U.S. Circuit Judge N. Randy Smith said his colleagues had misread the Supreme Court\u2019s Second Amendment expansion. Smith was appointed by former President George W. Bush. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA state may not prohibit the public carriage of firearms by eliminating both open and concealed carry, but a state can lawfully eliminate one manner of carry to protect and ensure the safety of its citizens, as long as they are able to carry in another manner,\u201d he wrote. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

thehill<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A federal appeals court ruled Friday that California\u2019s open carry ban in most parts of the state infringes on the constitutional right to keep and bear arms.  The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel\u2002voted 2-1 that the ban runs afoul of the Supreme Court\u2019s expanded Second Amendment test, which requires gun control measures be consistent with the nation\u2019s historical tradition of firearm regulation.  U.S. Circuit Judge Lawrence […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":52113,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[35860,2381,1189,1930],"class_list":["post-52112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-appea-court-l","tag-ban","tag-california","tag-gun"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=52112"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52112\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52114,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52112\/revisions\/52114"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/52113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=52112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=52112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=52112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}