The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco rejected on Monday a request from gun rights groups to rehear a challenge to California’s restrictive concealed carry laws, setting the case on a path towards a final decision by the Supreme Court.
The laws require California residents to obtain a permit from local law enforcement agencies before they can carry a concealed firearm. The permits are impossible to obtain by anyone except police and security guards in most metropolitan areas, according to SFGate.com. Residents have to prove a “good cause” for carrying a handgun for self-defense, which can be difficult even in rural and inland areas.
The Ninth Circuit Court initially ruled this law to be unconstitutional, striking it down in a 2-1 decision. As the Second Amendment guarantees the right to “bear [i.e., carry] arms,” and a constitutional right to carry firearms in one’s own home doesn’t make sense, the court ruled that the Second Amendment applies equally inside and outside the home.
But three years of law school can muddy even the simplest language, and, when gun control groups appealed, the 11-judge version of the Ninth Circuit Court reversed the previous ruling with a 7-4 vote.
Gun rights advocates requested the case be heard by the full, 28-judge court, but the court denied the request.
Now the Supreme Court will have an opportunity to hear the case and decide the future of concealed carry laws not just in California—but nationwide. Don’t hold your breath, though. Over the years, the high court has had the opportunity to hear similar cases on ‘may-issue’ concealed-carry standards that require “good cause,” but has refused to take up the cases.
Plus, with Justice Scalia’s passing, now may not be the best time for the Supreme Court to render a decision on the “good cause” requirement. It might be best to wait until a new pro-gun justice is appointed — assuming one is appointed following the presidential elections in November (it’s not looking good; Hillary has been leading in the polls).
Meanwhile, California gun owners have been shattering gun sale records, setting a pace to purchase nearly one million guns in 2016, according to a report from KQED. Sales in 2014 and 2015 never cracked 900,000, but 990,000 guns are expected to be purchased this year. Sales have spiked in the aftermath of the mass murders in Orlando and Dallas as Californians (rightly) feared stricter gun control measures weren’t far behind (see video above).
Many of those purchased handguns (288,331 through July), which, presumably, Californians hope to use to defend themselves against the next terrorist attack. But their ability to do so might be even more hampered than it already is if the Supreme Court rules against the right to bear arms outside the home.
The consequences of such a ruling would not be immediately felt, as the Court does not have the power to ban concealed carry nationwide. A ruling in favor of gun control groups would, however, open the door for more states to follow California’s lead unchallenged. Ultimately, such a decision would give an anti-gun Congress the opportunity to ban concealed carry in every state, stripping the constitutional self-defense rights from millions of law-abiding gun owners. Right now, thankfully, the GOP controls the Congress. But it doesn’t take long for things to change.
California has always been communist state..
I’d like to remind people that it is illegal to have a gun in Mexico. But there doesn’t seem to be any shortage of guns held and used by the cartels who now have more firepower than their government. I’ve heard the cartels even get guns from the U.S. Government 😉
You mean Guns from obama??
shhh, fast and furious never happened, let me be clear’, this never happened!!!
This is obviously and absolutely another GUN CONTROL effort by the bastard Obama and the lies of obnoxious Democrats. Everyone, Republicans and Dems, who want to keep the Constitution, Supreme Court, and FREEDOM we have in the United States should vote FOR TRUMP AND REPUBLICANS and AGAINST CORRUPT HILLARY AND THE DEMS. HILLARY IS ROTTEN TO THE CORE AND SO IS BILLY!!!!
Trumps a terrific person. NOT! He’s as crooked as anyone. Just ask the people who have done workk for him. He’s a scum bag.
Hillary is our savor?????
Troll
I feel like most states don’t want people to be able to protect themselves. So many are against guns because of the nature of man. And many thing guns kill people but people kill people. Just because of humans nature, we shouldn’t have to deal with not being able to have guns on us.
The overwhelming lack of intellect and competence in government leadership, especially in California, is deplorable.
Thank goodness the authors of our Constitution were intelligent and forward thinking people because they have protected us against the utter morons currently in government. I’m split on the decision to send this to the Supreme Court.
I’m happy because the Supreme Court will have no choice but to uphold the Constitution and I’m sad that the idiots in California have created the need to waste the courts time.
the SC didn’t have power of constitution to pass the gay law on its own, but it did and no one stood up. its no longer 3 powers to balance but only 2 to push agendas,,,,congress doest have a say. Freedom can be vote away by 9 peop and forced on masses, and stupid people still want Hilary to app. next judge, its over
They want to take our firearms, no question about it! The gov’t wants to control us 100% and need to rely upon them such as having 911 as our so called defense…good luck with that folks. You will be dead before they get there. DO NOT EVER give up your firearms…….you will regret it and there will be no recourse.
We all know the nature of man, though many pretend they live in Disneyland. Evil exists in every man. Most western cultures demand that that evil be self-controlled. But not if you follow the teachings of muhammad, those teachings say believe my crazy or feel my steel. I will allows, no matter what insane politicians may pass as unconstitutional laws, be armed to defend myself, my family, my community, and my country. My oath doesn’t expire simply because I retire from service. Please stop nominating morons. We need to elect sane people who respect our constitution and are not nut bars, liars, and megalomaniacs. This country has lost its respect for each other – no more manners, no more humbleness, no more self-sacrifice, no more delaying of reward, no more sense of self-restraint, no more devotion to setting a good example for our children, and no more being responsible for our actions. Welcome to chaos, prepare yourself for impact.
If the court strikes down conceal-carry in one form or another, I sense that many law-abiding people will continue to carry and protect themselves, even if it means carrying smaller pistols (NAA, etc) with deep concealment holsters. Society right now is very volatile, it doesn’t take much of a spark to light an inferno quickly. As for me and mine, we have made our choice. It would behoove all of us to learn basic knife fighting, close and quick combat skills, use a walking stick/cane, anything. We as a nation are a hair’s width away from being robbed of all we hold dear, vote wisely in November.
Stay armed, stay aware, stay safe.
Roger Marrs, I felt exactly like you in past years. However, while on a canoe trip in upper New York State, I suffered a capsize event and consequently lost all of my rifles and shotguns. Since the purpose of the canoe trip was to reach remote fishing spots, you might ask why I brought along all of my firearms. Let me get back to that question later.
Our Governor, Andrew Cuomo, recently initiated the New York State S.A.F.E. gun law. It requires that 140 different models of rifles and shotguns to be registered just like handguns. That list was borrowed from a previous list compiled by the staff of Senator Dianne Feinstein, Dem. from California. All of these firearms were judged to be “dangerous” to the general public.
Governor Cuomo assured the residents of New York State that the presence of firearms in the home can be the cause of tragic accidents involving children, and also lead to criminal behavior by the adults in that home. The governor asserted that if a home owner had the time to get a gun, he or she had the time to call 911. As a resident of New York State, I believed my governor and decided to follow his advice concerning firearms.
Back to the question about why I brought along all of my rifles, shotguns and all of my spare ammunition on a fishing trip. The answer should be obvious, I was apprehensive about encountering a rabid duck on the waterways. Roger, I am almost sure that you now understand why I chose not to replace my lost firearms. I don’t wish to expose anyone in my home to the evil influence of dangerous firearms. The kids are grown up and are raising their own families in their homes, but my wife and I trust the advice of Governor Cuomo about having guns in the home. Any way, that’s my story and I’m sticking with it.
Joe…I completely understand. My guns were all lost in a tragic accident as well.
…really?
1. Benefit of the doubt (which I know is false, but for the sake of devils advocate), we’ll say it takes as much time to grab a gun as it takes to call 911. But if you’re going to go the 911 route, you might as well just call an ambulance instead of police, because even if it just takes a second to call, it takes about as much time for them to get to you as it takes a criminal to rape and murder your family. In contrast, even if it takes as much time to grab a gun as dialing 911, it takes less than a second to put a bullet through your assailant.
2. If firearms are properly secured in the home and family members are properly educated about them, your risk for accident is dramatically reduced. Of course, this takes more effort than just letting those who protect and serve take care of your loved ones. But hey, it gets you out of some extra work, right??
3. If possessing firearms somehow makes you more inclined to engaging in criminal activity, then perhaps you shouldn’t own guns, but I’ve never even heard of this happening to anybody. Quite the contrary, actually (at least for myself). Living in a state that doesn’t seem to think that banning everything is the answer to life, I carry a firearm everywhere. Doing so has made me much more careful about everything I do day to day. Not that I was a criminal before I began carrying, but I have become a more responsible, law abiding citizen since.
“A right delayed is a right denied.” – Martin Luther King, Jr
A GOP-controlled Congress will do precisely nothing to protect the 2nd Amendment. They’ve sold out to the Left. Completely.
Most GOP’s are pro gun, look at the records…..
Let us hope the b_ _ _ _ on wheels never gets elected, that will end one problem. Let us hope also that a gun-pro judge takes the vacant seat in SCOTUS. Let us also hope in the event it all goes south, that the first homes, the first people that are assulted by repeat felons are the very ones that so desperately want to do away with our 2nd Ammendment Rights. Hopefully, they will suddenly realize, they just hung themselves. Simply put, you take away our guns, you take away our means of self defense against the criminals that can still get their guns all because of our brilliant government officials. So while they are hiding in their closets while the intruders invade their homes, maybe they will s _ _ _ themselves to death. I one form or another, I will have a means of self defense, even if it has to be homemade.
CaliLand doesn’t want you to be able to defend yourself, as then that takes away your reliance on the police force, and could harm one of their repeat offenders. So the lie they have been pushing on the people is just to dial 911 and police will be right there to protect you. The truth is that they are not. Also, as some Trump supporters can tell you, that even if they are there it doesn’t mean that they will do anything. San Jose Police just stood and watched as Trump supporters were attacked. I saw the writing on the wall over 20 years ago, and it was one of the many reasons that caused me to leave, but it was a major reason. I will not be a defenseless victim.