Federal Court Declares All Americans Have the Right to Carry a Firearm

OFF THE WIRE
The Second Amendment is constantly being tested. Now the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that individuals have a right to carry firearms openly in public. While this may not seem like shocking news, it is. The ruling comes from the most liberal of the nation’s appellate courts and strikes down a lower court that restricted the right to carry to the home.

A #WIN FOR #CA GUN OWNERS: The 9th Circuit issued a ruling in the case of Duncan v. Becerra on Tuesday upholding a lower court’s decision to suspend enforcement of CA's restriction on the possession of magazines that hold 10 rounds or more. https://t.co/YRGMs33WLR

— NRA (@NRA) July 17, 2018

“Analyzing the text of the Second Amendment and reviewing the relevant history, including founding-era treatises and nineteenth century case law, the panel stated that it was unpersuaded by the county’s and the state’s argument that the Second Amendment only has force within the home,” the new ruling states.
This current case began when George Young, a resident of Hawaii, was denied the right to carry a handgun. He took his case to court.

BREAKING: 9th Circuit Court of Appeal panel holds that the Second Amendment extends beyond the home! Decision was 2-1, with GW Bush-appointee dissenting. Opinion can be read here: https://t.co/9vU47Ernyh #2A #GunRights #SecondAmendment

— Firearms Policy (@gunpolicy) July 24, 2018

“Laws on openly carrying firearms vary widely by state and type of gun,” Reuters writes. “The most restrictive are California, which falls under the 9th Circuit’s jurisdiction, Florida, Illinois and the District of Columbia, which generally prohibit people from openly carrying any sort of firearm, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a nonprofit policy organization that favors greater gun control.”

Hawaii requires a license for the open carry of handguns.
“We do not take lightly the problem of gun violence,” Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain wrote in Tuesday’s ruling. “But, for better or for worse, the Second Amendment does protect a right to carry a firearm in public for self-defense.”

Judge Richard Clifton dissented. States, he said, have “long allowed for extensive regulations of and limitations on the public carry of firearms.”

“It’s the second time this month that the three-judge panel issued a pro-Second Amendment decision,” Fox writes, “after backing a lower court’s decision last week to suspend California’s ban on the possession of large magazines.”

Just what makes a magazine “large” is a contentious topic. Capacity varies wildly. California sought to limit capacity under 10 rounds. That angered many gun owners in the state, and they fought the restrictions. “They won a preliminary injunction by a San Diego district court last year, and a three-judge panel on the Ninth Circuit backed that injunction last week,” Fox notes.
This new ruling is another major win for supporters of the Second Amendment. The reversal stalls a ruling by the Supreme Court.