James R. Browning U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco, CA and location of the San Francisco Ninth Circuit Courthouse
Just hours ago, news broke that the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had upheld a Hawaii gun regulation, saying in their ruling today that states do have the right to restrict the open carrying of guns in public.
The LA Times reported the story:
In a 7-4 decision, an en banc panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said restrictions on carrying guns in public except for hunting do not violate the 2nd Amendment’s guarantee of the right to bear arms.
“The government may regulate, and even prohibit, in public places — including government buildings, churches, schools, and markets — the open carrying of small arms capable of being concealed, whether they are carried concealed or openly,” Judge Jay Bybee, appointed by President George W. Bush, wrote for the majority.
He said a review of more than 700 years of American and English law showed that government has long had the power to regulate arms in public places.
“We have never assumed that individuals have an unfettered right to carry weapons in public spaces,” Bybee wrote. “Indeed, we can find no general right to carry arms into the public square for self defense.”
Bybee was joined by another Bush appointee and five Democratic appointees.
The Background Of The Case
Before we get into how ridiculous this kangaroo-court ruling is, here’s some background on the case the court was hearing. The case was brought by a man who was trying to get a permit to open carry. During the court case, it came out that his Hawaiian county has been limiting the issuance of those permits to security guards.
This decision upheld the county law in Hawaii, saying that those permits were only for people who were “for hunting, to persons with an urgent need for arms and “engaged in the protection of life and property.”
Essentially, if your day job is as a security guard, you could have a permit. But if you’re not? The 9th Circuit says you don’t need to defend yourself with a gun unless you’re getting paid to!
Cheering From The Peanut Gallery
Of course, Everytown was quick to jump on this verdict, with the managing director at Everytown Law, Eric Tirschwell issuing a statement:
“Today’s ruling, joined by respected appellate judges across the ideological spectrum, is the latest reminder that arguments against reasonable, life-saving gun laws rarely hold up in the courtroom. As the court recognized, states and localities have extremely broad power to restrict the carrying of firearms in public spaces.”
Gun owners will remember that back in 2016, the 9th Circuit court also said that Americans don’t have a constitutional right to carry concealed guns in public.
What Will This Change?
This is just one more hit from the left in their never-ending war to destroy the Second Amendment. Obviously, this ruling will be appealed to the United States Supreme Court before any gun owners will lose their right to open carry — rendering this little more than a symbolic gesture.
But it’s worth noting that the 9th Circuit could easily be passing rulings like this for the purpose of creating a web of rulings that would give the appearance of legitimate “legal standing”and precedent for any future gun control rulings from the Supreme Court or any lesser state courts.
Both the result of the appeal to this decision — and any future attempts to wrangle their decisions into legal standing for future gun control — remain to be seen.
But what is lost on the members of the 9th Circuit Court is that America’s Founding Fathers gave us the Second Amendment for the very reason! They gave us the Second Amendment so that the American people would never be under the dictatorship of an out-of-control Court, an out-of-control Federal government, or an invading foreign power!
Cases like this are the exact reason why gun owners need to stand up and reject EVERY SINGLE gun control bill that Joe Biden and the leftists in our government are trying to ram though! It’s time to fight like hell to advance 2A freedom in every single Republican controlled legislature in the country.