9th Circuit Court of Appeals: No Constitutional Right to Concealed Carry

In writing and in the law I believe in the concept of BLUF: Bottom Line Up Front. So without further ado, I have the great, but not surprising displeasure of informing you all that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (California-ish) ruled “en banc” that the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee a right to carry a concealed firearm and that states may prohibit and/or restrict this practice.

Now before you all go into a panic, remember, it is the 9th Circuit, which is generally left leaning. However, to be fair, since it is a federal case, this issue is very ripe for a U.S. Supreme Court hearing – which given the current 4-4 makeup of the court is a daunting thing to think about.

In a 7-4 opinion, the Court held that since historically, the 2nd Amendment did not guarantee a right to carry a concealed firearm, that states are free to restrict the practice. This case comes on the heels of a big pro-gun rights case out of the very same 9th Circuit – Teixeira v. County of Alameda, which if you’ve read my blog before, that stands for the proposition that flat out bans gun shops, and says they are unconstitutional.

Additionally, the court punted on the issue of open carry. The Court noted that the Supreme Court in Heller left open the idea of whether the 2nd Amendment guaranteed a Constitutional right to open carry a firearm. This 9th Circuit, most likely wishing to extremely limit their ruling, did the same thing and did not hold either way regarding open carrying of firearms.

The issue is interesting and developing. No doubt it stands as a huge blow to gun rights advocates and 2nd Amendment supporters everywhere. It also lends ammunition (pun intended) to the appeal of a D.C. Federal Court Judge’s Order putting on hold D.C.’s “good cause” requirement.

Only time will tell if the U.S. Supreme Court will take this case, or if, strategically, given the makeup of the Court, the aggrieved party will even appeal. As always, stay tuned…

Hans Dara is a North Carolina attorney. Whereas all efforts are taken to ensure that the information contained in these “blogs” is accurate, nothing contained herein, or elsewhere on this or any website, or forum where this material may be posted, shall constitute legal advice or act to establish an attorney-client relationship. Should you have any question regarding any specific fact, law, or situation, you should contact a competent attorney.

Hans is also a NRA certified instructor, one of the three at Dara Academy of Wendell, NC. For more information regarding courses visit DaraAcademyNC.com