California’s ban on open carry in more populated counties is unconstitutional, appeals panel says

By CBS Bay Area

A federal appeals panel has ruled that a California law prohibiting open carry of firearms in heavily populated counties is unconstitutional.

The ruling was issued Friday by two judges on a three-judge panel for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The judges found that the state’s policy of limiting open carry to counties with a population of less than 200,000 is inconsistent with the Second Amendment.

“California’s legal regime is a complete ban on open carry in urban areas — the areas of the state where 95% of the people live,” they said in the decision.

The dissenting judge disagreed and said California could limit open carry in more populated areas because it allows for concealed carry throughout the state.

The ruling comes in a long-running debate over gun laws in the United States and in California, which has passed a series of restrictions.

It came after Mark Baird, a Siskiyou County resident, filed a lawsuit asking the courts to restore the historical practice of open carry being allowed.

Chuck Michel, president of the California Rifle & Pistol Association, said he expected state officials will seek a review of the ruling by the full appeals court.

“It’s a very significant opinion,” Michel said, adding that a key question in the case is how a 2022 Supreme Court decision expanding gun rights should be applied.

The press office for Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement on social media that the state’s law was carefully crafted to comply with the Second Amendment.

“California just got military troops with weapons of war off of the streets of our cities, but now Republican activists on the Ninth Circuit want to replace them with gunslingers and return to the days of the Wild West,” the statement said.

In a statement to CBS Sacramento, Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said it’s reviewing the opinion.

“We are committed to defending California’s commonsense gun laws,” Bonta’s office said. “We are reviewing the opinion and considering all options.”

Craig DeLuz is a California concealed carry permit holder and publisher of A2 News, who says allowing open carry permits in would change perceptions about gun rights.

“It will remove a stigma which many on the left and many quite sadly in law enforcement want, which is if you’re a person carrying a gun and not wearing a badge you are a ‘bad guy,’ and so I think this addresses that,” DeLuz said. 

California State Senator Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas) says the federal court ruling is bad for public safety.

“I was truly alarmed by the decision,” Blakespear said. “I mean, this is not the ‘Wild West’ where everybody walks around with a gun on their waist. I mean, we see in other countries when there is a mass shooting, they tighten down on their gun laws.”