- California court allows gun restrictions
- Second Amendment challenge rejected
- Similar laws face legal challenges
A federal appeals court in the United States has paved the way for the California legislature to adopt a law prohibiting the carrying of firearms in the majority of public places.
On Saturday, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals stayed an injunction issued by a judge on December 20. The judge had determined that the law passed by the Democratic-led state violated the Second Amendment right of citizens to keep and bear arms.
The legislation is scheduled to be implemented on January 1, 2024.
An administrative stay was issued by the three-judge panel, halting the injunction until a different 9th Circuit panel deliberates on whether to grant an even more protracted delay during the course of the litigation.
The aforementioned measure, signed into law by California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom in September and scheduled to go into effect on January 1, was implemented subsequent to a pivotal decision rendered by the conservative-majority US Supreme Court in June 2022, which broadened gun rights on a national scale.
In that case, the Supreme Court invalidated New York’s stringent gun permit system, providing an expansive interpretation of the Second Amendment, which serves as the foundation for gun rights in the United States.
Sequence of judicial challenges
In New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the authority of legislators to restrict firearm possession in public was limited. It also prompted a succession of judicial challenges.
California, which has some of the most stringent gun control laws in the United States, was among a group of states that adopted revised firearms regulations in response to the Supreme Court’s decision and shared similar legislation to New York.
Individuals were also prohibited from carrying concealed firearms in 26 categories of “sensitive places” (hospitals, playgrounds, stadiums, sanctuaries, and places of worship), under California’s new law, irrespective of whether they had concealed weapon permits.
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Legal Battle Over California’s Concealed Firearms Law
Additionally, Senate Bill 2 prohibited the carrying of concealed firearms in publicly accessible commercial establishments that are privately owned, unless the proprietor of the establishment posts a sign permitting licence holders to carry firearms on the premises.
On the grounds that the new law was unconstitutional, a coalition of concealed carry permit holders and gun rights organisations, including the California Rifle & Pistol Association, Gun Owners of America, and the Second Amendment Foundation, filed suit.
District Judge Cormac Carney, an individual who was appointed by former Republican President George W. Bush, endorsed and halted the legislation until the verdict of the case is determined on December 20.
Carney also wrote that the legislation “effectively nullifies the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding and exceptionally qualified citizens to bear arms and defend themselves in public” by designating almost every public area in California as a “sensitive place.”
Attorney General of California Rob Bonta expeditiously petitioned the 9th Circuit to halt the injunction pending an appeal, stating that “tens of millions of Californians will be exposed to an increased risk of gun violence” if the law remains blocked.
Adopted similar legislation in other jurisdictions has also encountered legal challenges. The 8th of December, a federal appeals court ruled that the state of New York could prohibit gun owners from transporting firearms in “sensitive locations” such as parks, zoos, theatres, and bars.
