The United States appeal court has ruled that California’s ban on openly carrying firearms in most parts of the state violates the Second Amendment.
In a 2–1 decision on Friday, a panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with a gun owner who challenged the law, which prohibits open carry in counties with populations exceeding 200,000. The court held that the restriction infringes on the constitutional right to keep and bear arms.
The ruling affects about 95 per cent of California’s population, as the vast majority of residents live in counties covered by the ban. California is known for having some of the strictest gun control laws in the United States.
Writing the majority opinion, U.S. Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, said the law could not stand under a landmark 2022 Supreme Court decision on gun rights. That ruling, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, established that firearm regulations must be consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of gun control.
VanDyke noted that open carry predates the ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791 and remains legal in more than 30 states. He added that California itself permitted the open and holstered carrying of handguns for self-defence until 2012.
“The historical record makes unmistakably plain that open carry is part of this nation’s history and tradition,” the judge said. His opinion was joined by another Trump-appointed judge.
The decision partially overturns a 2023 lower-court ruling that had dismissed a 2019 lawsuit filed by gun owner Mark Baird. While the appeals court largely ruled in Baird’s favour, it rejected his challenge to California’s licensing rules in counties with fewer than 200,000 residents, where authorities may issue open-carry permits.
In a dissenting opinion, Senior U.S. Circuit Judge N. Randy Smith, appointed by former President George W. Bush, argued that all of California’s gun restrictions comply with the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling, saying the majority “got this case half right.”
Reacting to the judgment, a spokesperson for California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the State is reviewing its options. “We are committed to defending California’s common-sense gun laws,” the spokesperson said.
The 2022 Supreme Court decision has triggered legal challenges to modern firearm regulations across the country. In California, the 9th Circuit in September 2024 upheld a separate law barring people with concealed-carry permits from bringing firearms into certain “sensitive places,” including bars, parks, zoos, stadiums and museums.