9th Circuit rules against CA open carry gun ban

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit Friday ruled against California’s ban on open carry of firearms in most counties. The San Francisco-based court's ruling declared the ban unconstitutional in counties with a population exceeding 200,000. Those counties make up 95% of the state. According to the written ruling, the panel of three 9th Circuit judges found the ban “is inconsistent with the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms as applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.” The ruling came in the lawsuit that gun owner Mark Baird filed against California Attorney General Rob Bonta. It partially affirmed and partially reversed a 2023 ruling by Judge Kimberly J. Mueller of the U.S. District Court for Eastern California. The Center Square reached out Friday to the state Attorney General’s Office, which said, "We are committed to defending California's commonsense gun laws. We are reviewing the opinion and considering all options." The 9th Circuit