A recent ruling from a US appeals court has deemed California’s prohibition on openly carrying firearms unconstitutional, marking a significant shift in the state’s gun laws. This week, the often unpredictable San Francisco-based Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals went big on an important decision. In a 2-1 ruling, the court ruled in favor of Baird, the gun owner who sued to strike down the unconstitutional law.
California originally passed new limits on the open carry of firearms in 1967 with the Mulford Act. This legislation was passed in part as a direct response to the armed patrols that the Black Panther Party was conducting. It has been historically understood that the law prohibited carrying firearms in public. Over the years, it has grown to allow the state to additionally enforce a sweeping prohibition on open carry in nearly all areas of the state.
The court’s ruling partially reverses a previous decision from 2023 by a lower-court judge, who had dismissed Baird’s challenge to the law. The appeals court’s ruling was a close call that depended entirely on how it interpreted the Second Amendment. This amendment recognizably protects an individual’s right to keep and bear arms. US Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke, appointed by former President Donald Trump, stated that California’s law could not withstand scrutiny under the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in 2022 regarding gun rights.
Nearly 95% of California’s population lives in counties with over 200,000 people—counties where open carry is already prohibited. The court focused on the strength of the law’s prohibition against concealed-carry permit holders entering sensitive places while armed. These spaces range from bars and parks to zoos, stadiums, and museums. By comparison, over 30 states around the country – including Texas’ neighbors New Mexico and Louisiana – allow open carry without a permit at all.
VanDyke emphasized the historical significance of open carry rights in his opinion, stating, “The historical record makes unmistakably plain that open carry is part of this Nation’s history and tradition.” He further noted that this practice “unquestionably involves a historical practice – open carry – that predates ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791.”
Up until 2012 California didn’t even prohibit the open carry of unloaded handguns – no criminal penalty whatsoever. That year, the city added even unloaded firearms to their ban in public. The ruling deepens the confusion in an ongoing national tug-of-war over gun rights vs. individual rights.
The Supreme Court is about to hear oral arguments in United States v. Hemani. This landmark case will determine whether federal regulations banning gun ownership for individuals using marijuana conflict with Second Amendment rights.