Gun permit applicants in California must submit a specific reason to be granted authorization to carry a concealed weapon.
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In Los Angeles, however, walking outside your home with a concealed gun remains illegal unless authorities have decided you have “good cause” to carry.
The ruling places the 9th Circuit Court in line with other U.S. appellate courts that have upheld the right of officials in the eastern states of New York, Maryland and New Jersey to deny concealed carry applications in certain cases.
“In Heller, the Supreme Court unequivocally asserted that the ‘enshrinement of constitutional rights necessarily takes certain policy choices off the table, ‘” Leon wrote.
In the Bill of Rights under the second amendment of the Constitution of the Unite States the right to bear arms comes with certain restrictions in the day in age we live in.
In any event, the 9th Circuit carries a reputation as the most overturned court of appeals in the country.
At the heart of the dispute was the interpretation of “good cause”. Some examples include having a restraining order against someone and believing they are a threat to your life; working in the firearms industry; being a jeweler who transports merchandise; or being an attorney.
“You have to show cause, and your cause isn’t just to protect yourself and your family”, Prieto said. “For example, has your life or property been threatened or jeopardized?”
Sheriff’s lawyer Robert Faigan said the department hasn’t processed those applications and will continue to hold on to them while it waits to see what the Supreme Court does. The court is headquartered in San Francisco and is the largest of the 13 courts of appeals.
What did the court say? .
“In the context of present-day California law, the Defendant counties’ limited licensing of the right to carry concealed firearms is tantamount to a total ban on the right of an ordinary citizen to carry a firearm in public for self-defense”, Callahan wrote.
The justices found that many 19th century courts allowed states to forbid carrying concealed weapons – while noting that some struck down laws against carrying guns openly.
“The Supreme Court has sent strong signals that reasonable regulation on the possession and carrying of a lethal weapon is very appropriate”, Burdick said. In California, open carry of a handgun is illegal, and it is not assumed that concealed carry is nefarious. The requirement prompted a lawsuit by residents who were denied a permit.
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“Localizing the decision allows closer scrutiny of the interests and needs of each community”, says the appellate court’s history-laden majority opinion, which explores right-to-bear-arms laws dating back to late 13th-century England.
