Hell is freezing over. The (liberal) Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down one of the most ridiculous gun control regimes in the United States. In Baird v Bonta, in a two-to-one decision, the court ruled that the state of California’s anomalous open carry ban is unconstitutional.
The march toward full gun rights is in full swing!
First, there was DC v Heller, declaring that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to a gun. Then, the implementation of a concealed carry permit emerged over the decade. All fifty states finally enacted a permitting process when Illinois was ordered to set up a program in 2013.
Constitutional carry—no permit needed—has covered more than half the country at the same time. Then came New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, in which the Supreme Court affirmed that the Second Amendment protects the right to carry a firearm outside of one’s home, therefore undermining state statutes undermining gun rights.
Now we have the (slowing winning) fight for open carry.
California, like many blue states, frustrates American citizens’ natural right to carry. Despite this longstanding effort from blue states, the new conservative supermajority on the United States Supreme Court has been striking down these awful, outrageous limitations, and their new rulings have opened opportunities for American citizens to sue for full restoration of their gun rights
California’s ban on open carry is not just unconstitutional, it’s rather silly. Up to now, the Golden State provided a sparse loophole. Counties with fewer than two hundred thousand residents could issue Concealed Carry Weapons permits (CCW) with the right to open carry. All rural, mostly running along the eastern part of the state, the counties where one could open carry included Modoc County in the northeastern corner of the state, to Imperial County in the Southern corner.
But problems persisted.
Only residents in those low-population counties can apply for open carry. If an LA County resident wants to get a CCW, he must go through his home city or his county sheriff, and good luck with that! Granted, the Trump DOJ has sued Los Angeles County to expedite permitting and stop CCW delays, but the delays persist.
Second, if a resident in Imperial County obtains a permit, he can only open carry in that county! Urban citizens deserve the right to carry as much as the rural hunter.
Yes, technically, the entire state of California is a shall-issue jurisdiction because of Bruen, but county sheriffs in blue (populous) counties are dragging their feet. The state legislature recently passed a broad restriction law to keep guns out of sensitive places (basically, anywhere with people).
Regarding Baird v Bonta itself, the legal arguments were fascinating and funny to watch.
Judge Lawrence Van Dyke of Montana (Trump appointee), who had dissented in extraordinary fashion on another case with a video demonstration of how to load a firearm, asked the legal counsel for the state of California pointed questions about why the open carry regime was so anomalous throughout the state. He mocked the regime that allows residents to apply for the right to carry a firearm, but they don’t have a right to carry a firearm in 95% of the state. What is this madness?
Judge Kenneth Lee (another Trump appointee) brought up how California’s limitation on the right to carry came about because of racism. Normally, such arguments come off as trite and even tiresome, but if so-called DEI arguments can ensure everyone’s natural rights, then I say “GO FOR IT!”
Judge Lee’s comments brought up the lingering history: How did California end up as this anomalous gun control laws? In rural counties with few residents, you can open carry. Everywhere else (which is pretty much everywhere), you can’t. What gives?
Open carry was actually legal throughout the state until the late 1960s, after Black Panthers barged into the state legislature with their guns to oppose passage of the Mulford Act. This law made it illegal to carry a loaded firearm without a permit, and their demonstration only hastened the passage of the law. Fast forward to 2012, and California lawmakers tightened the reins further, making it illegal to open carry an unloaded firearm, except for those outlier counties.
And this expansion of gun control in California started with Republicans! A Republican introduced the legislation, and recently elected Republican governor Ronald Reagan signed off on it. Sadly, he championed forms of gun control later on, including his support for the Brady Bill (1991) and an assault weapons ban in 1994.
Gun control was a big problem, even for the GOP. Thankfully, those days are long gone, and President Trump has taken up the Second Amendment mantle like no president before him, starting with excellent judicial appointments, including the two judges who struck down California’s open carry ban!
Throughout Baird v Bonta, the nonsensical, ahistorical arguments against open carry fell apart pretty quickly in that hearing. Judge Van Dyke confronted the state’s attorney over the licensing restriction at its core, pointing out that it’s a broad ban, nothing more. When Van Dyke asked how Baird should have sought relief to open carry in San Francisco, the state’s attorney said he should soon the local licensing agency. Why? The state law prohibits a San Francisco resident from open carrying in the first place! The panel also brought up the disturbing fact that the application to carry is complex, and the option for open carry is very difficult to find! What’s going on here?!
In addition to Baird v Bonta, open carry is gaining ground because of other court rulings.
Last year, a Florida court ruled that Florida’s ban on open carry was unconstitutional. This ruling was a major boost for Governor Ron DeSantis, who has fought for the full right to carry in the Sunshine State since his first day in office. In 2023, he pushed constitutional carry, which passed with widespread support. Unfortunately, the bill did not allow open carry—except when hunting or fishing. Choosing a partial win over total loss, DeSantis went along with it, but he wanted full constitutional carry. Florida’s courts have helped him to get the full gun rights movement in gear!
What will California do following this loss in Baird v Bonta? If AG Bonta challenges the Ninth Circuit ruling to an en banc hearing, he might get a better ruling. If the US Supreme Court steps in, the court needs to expand its ruling in Bruen and declare that any ban on open carry is also a violation of the United States’ long tradition of gun ownership. The court needs to abandon the “history and tradition” test and restore gun rights as a natural right, regardless of history.
Let’s hope that SCOTUS hears this case or a similar case on the open carry issue and expands new guidelines beyond Bruen. Yes, we can expect legislators and local governments to respect the historical traditions surrounding the Second Amendment. But the history at its core is about protecting the citizens’ natural right to keep and bear arms. The word “bear” indicates carry – and how one carries—open or concealed—should not be limited by a politician, lawmaker, or judicial officer.
Editor’s Note: The mainstream media continues to lie about gun owners and the Second Amendment.
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