By Mark Tanos
A federal appeals court struck down California’s ban on openly carrying firearms in heavily populated areas Friday, dealing a major blow to the state’s gun control laws.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that California’s prohibition on open-carry permits in counties with populations exceeding 200,000 is unconstitutional, according to the court opinion. The ban covers areas where roughly 95% of the state’s residents live.
Judge Lawrence VanDyke wrote in the majority opinion that the restriction fails under the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which requires gun laws to align with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. (RELATED: Trump DOJ Sues D.C. For Banning ‘Most Popular Firearms’)
“Under Bruen, this is a straightforward case,” VanDyke wrote. “California is attempting to address a general societal problem through materially different means than were used during either the Founding or Reconstruction.”
The court found no historical precedent for banning open carry. VanDyke noted that open carry remained legal in California from statehood in 1850 until the Mulford Act of 1967, and the urban ban only took effect in 2012.
Mark Baird of Siskiyou County filed the original lawsuit in 2019, Politico reported. Despite living in a rural county with about 42,500 residents, Baird said he could not obtain an open-carry permit.
The California Department of Justice (DOJ) said it is reviewing the ruling and “considering all options,” according to Politico. The department remains “committed to defending California’s commonsense gun laws.”
