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Liberal Leaning Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms Constitutional Carry Right

July 24, 2018 by Dave Workman 9 Comments

In a 2-1 bombshell opinion issued Tuesday, a panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that, “for better or for worse, the Second Amendment does protect a right to carry a firearm in public for self-defense” and that the open carrying of firearms for that purpose “falls within the core of the Second Amendment.” That is a big win for proponents of Constitutional Carry.

Man openly carrying a revolver in a holster for Constitutional Carry
A Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel has ruled that open carry of a firearm “falls within the core of the Second Amendment.” (Dave Workman)

Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and founder of the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), told Liberty Park Press that SAF “has always said that you have to allow some form of carry for self-defense. If you ban concealed carry you must allow open carry or vice a versa.”

Open carry activists have been talking about the ruling at their forum, OpenCarry.org. The entire ruling may be read here.

The case stems from a challenge of Hawaii County regulations by Hawaii resident George K. Young, Jr. The county refused to issue a carry license “because (Young) failed to satisfy Hawaii’s licensing requirements, as set forth in section 134-9 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes,” the court opinion noted.

The 59-page opinion was authored by federal Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain, who wrote, “Restricting open carry to those whose job entails protecting life or property necessarily restricts open carry to a small and insulated subset of law-abiding citizens. Just as the Second Amendment does not protect a right to bear arms only in connection with a militia, it surely does not protect a right to bear arms only as a security guard. The typical, law-abiding citizen in the State of Hawaii is therefore entirely foreclosed from exercising the core Second Amendment right to bear arms for self-defense.”

Young had argued that the county “violated the Second Amendment by enforcing against him the State’s limitations in section 134-9 on the open carry of firearms to those ‘engaged in the protection of life and property’ and on the concealed carry of firearms to those who can demonstrate an ‘exceptional case’,” the ruling noted.

Judge O’Scannlain added this observation: “It follows that section 134-9 ‘amounts to a destruction’ of a core right, and as such, it is infirm ‘[u]nder any of the standards of scrutiny.’ Thus, we hold that section 134-9’s limitation on the open carry of firearms to those ‘engaged in the protection of life and property’ violates the core of the Second Amendment and is void; the County may not constitutionally enforce such a limitation on applicants for open carry licenses.”

While Hawaii officials may request an en banc hearing before a full Ninth Circuit panel, it will be interesting to watch how this unfolds because of an earlier Ninth Circuit ruling that held concealed carry is not protected by the Second Amendment. As Gottlieb told a reporter Tuesday, this creates a dilemma because either open or concealed carry must be allowed for citizens to exercise their right to bear arms, as protected by the Second Amendment.

The ruling could open the door to the Supreme Court, which has been reluctant to take a Second Amendment case since the 2010 McDonald ruling. There have been at least three “right to carry” cases sent to the high court for review, and all have been rejected. But that could change if Judge Brett Kavanaugh is appointed to fill the vacancy being created by retiring Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy.

The Ninth Circuit encompasses all the western states, including California, Oregon, and Washington.

What effect do you think the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling will have on gun rights and Constitutional Carry? Do you think this ruling foretells the direction of self-defense cases?  Share your answers in the comment section.


Sign up for K-Var’s weekly newsletter and discounts here.

Dave Workman is the Senior Editor at the Liberty Park Press.

Filed Under: News, Second Amendment Tagged With: Constitutional Carry, Open Carry

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. JR says

    July 28, 2018 at 12:06 pm

    When I read this ruling by the NINTH?, I fell out of my chair. They usually think they can re-write the Constitution to meet their socialist viewpoints. I am floored, are we finally getting judges to agree with, and use the Constitution as a guideline to make decisions regarding the rule of law.
    Thank God.

    Reply
  2. Frank Zumpf says

    July 29, 2018 at 1:52 pm

    Finally a reasonable left wing judge, we need more of them

    Reply
  3. Ron Toney says

    July 29, 2018 at 6:25 pm

    Who interpreted the Constitution this time. You should hold a class!!

    Reply
  4. Wayne Giordano says

    July 30, 2018 at 3:17 pm

    Finally we may see this before the Supreme Court yet

    Reply
  5. Michael Krager says

    July 30, 2018 at 6:54 pm

    Nice to see the tide turning in this much needed, but relatively narrow opinion. We can NEVER EVER let our guard down.

    Reply
  6. Ryan Lowden says

    July 30, 2018 at 10:12 pm

    I am so glad the 9th circuit is finally taking the second amendment seriously.hopefully if it goes before the full Court they will affirm the ruling. I highly doubt it though.

    Reply
  7. Ryan Lowden says

    July 30, 2018 at 10:16 pm

    I am so glad the made this ruling. Hopefully the full Court will affirm it. I highly doubt it though.

    Reply
  8. 208brando says

    July 30, 2018 at 10:20 pm

    Almost unbelievable

    Reply
  9. Ryan lowden says

    August 6, 2018 at 12:02 pm

    I am so glad the 9th circuit decided to uphold a person’s right to carry. Hopefully the full court will rule the same when Hawaii appeals.

    Reply

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