Ninth Circuit Panel Finds California Open Carry Ban Unconstitutional

A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Friday that California’s ban on open carry of handguns runs afoul of Bruen (2022) and violates the Second Amendment.

The Los Angeles Times noted that the panel issued a 2-1 ruling in which Trump appointees Lawrence VanDyke and Kenneth Kiyul Lee voted in the majority.  George W. Bush appointee N. Randy Smith was the dissenting judge.

VanDyke wrote the opinion for the panel, noting that California’s ban–which was adopted in 2011–fails the Bruen test, which requires modern day gun controls to be demonstrably supported by founding-era law and intention.

He wrote, “The historical record makes unmistakably plain that open carry is part of this Nation’s history and tradition. It was clearly protected at the time of the Founding and at the time of the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment.”

VanDyke also pointed out that open carry is the “default lawful means” of carrying a firearm in a majority of states around the Union.

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KCRA pointed out that the Ninth Circuit panel let California’s open carry permit requirement stand, but not without criticism, noting, “California admits that it has no record of even one open-carry license being issued, and one potential reason is that California has misled its citizens about how to apply for an open-carry license.”

California can appeal the ruling, asking for the Ninth Circuit to hear the case en banc.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and holds a PhD in Military History with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.