We recently reported that a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals declared California’s ban on open carry in most parts of the state unconstitutional.
On January 2, the panel, in the case Baird v. Bonta, held that the Golden State’s ban on open carry in counties with a population of more than 200,000 people violated the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms as applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. With its 200,000 population threshold, the law actually prohibits open carry in areas of the state where 95% of Californians live and work.
“For most of American history, open carry has been the default manner of lawful carry for firearms,” Judge Lawrence VanDyke wrote in the ruling. “It remains the norm across the country—more than 30 states generally allow open carry to this day, including states with significant urban populations. Indeed, several of our Nation’s largest cities and states recently returned to unlicensed open carry by explicitly authorizing it. Similarly, for the first 162 years of its history open carry was a largely unremarkable part of daily life in California.”
Of course, pushback from state leaders was expected. And California Attorney General Rob Bonta, arguably the most anti-gun AG in the nation, was happy to provide some hand-wringing over the ruling.
“This is beyond concerning; it is deeply wrong,” AG Bonta said in a January 16 news release. “Allowing the open carry of firearms in densely populated counties creates unnecessary anxiety, terrorizes children, and instills fear throughout our communities.”
Bonta’s rhetoric, of course, is ridiculous. The vast majority of U.S. states don’t restrict open carry, and I’ve heard of no outbreak of terrorized children for seeing an armed person in a grocery store or convenience store.
In fact, in my home state of Oklahoma, I regularly see people openly carry firearms in my neighborhood Walmart Market. Most people don’t even notice, and those who do are usually thankful for the armed presence, since they understand that “the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”
Hear this, AG Bonta. Being a sore loser is one thing. Making claims of terrorized children is simply over the top.
In the news release, Bonta also called for the court to reconsider its ruling in light of the “fear” and “chaos” that he says will occur as a result of open carry.
“The number one job of the California Department of Justice is to protect the public’s safety,” he said. “The open presence of these weapons in urban environments does not make the public safer; it spreads panic and destabilizes daily life. I strongly urge the court to rehear this case so that California can continue to prevent fear, chaos, and intimidation from taking hold on the streets of our largest cities.”
Truth is, if Bonta and other liberal California politicians want to “Protect the public’s safety,” they would roll back the revolving door justice system they’ve implemented that turns dangerous criminals out on the street to harm more lawful citizens. And they would allow the federal government to enforce immigration laws and arrest and deport violent criminal migrants who have been turned back out on the street.
Ultimately, it’s likely the entire 9th Circuit will consider the case. If they do, hopefully they’ll study the three-judge panel’s ruling closely when making a decision.