The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that state governments can restrict people from openly carrying guns in public, a move that diminishes the right to bear arms and directly opposes the Second Amendment.
The case Young v. Hawaii included a lawsuit by a Hawaiian resident who argued his state’s restrictions against open carry of a firearm was unconstitutional. The appeals court declared the state’s law was in keeping with a “longstanding tradition.”
The court ruled the states could restrict “certain weapons from entering… public spaces as means of providing ‘domestic Tranquility’ and forestalling ‘domestic Violence.” However, the ruling based on “longstanding tradition” appears at odds with the Second Amendment.
Immediate pushback
Judge Jay Bybee wrote for the majority that the ruling is justified because “the government may regulate, and even prohibit, in public places – including government buildings, churches, schools, and markets – the open carrying of small arms capable of being concealed, whether they are carried concealed or openly.”
Joseph Greenlee, the director of constitutional studies at the Firearms Police Coalition, criticized the ruling in a statement Wednesday.
“We are very disappointed in the outcome of this case,” Greenlee stated.
“As the dissent pointed out, the Ninth Circuit has effectively eliminated the word ‘bear’ from the Constitution,” he continued. “Now that tens of millions of Americans have been told, for the first time ever, that they have no right to carry a firearm, it is more important than ever for the Supreme Court to address the issue and define the right to “bear arms.”
NRA fights back
The National Rifle Association (NRA) also opposed the decision. “This was not an NRA case but we are exploring all options to rectify this,” the group stated in a tweet.
BREAKING: The US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit just ruled that THERE IS NO RIGHT TO CARRY – either openly or concealed in public.
This ruling impacts RTC laws in AK, HI, CA, AZ, OR, WA, & MT.
This was not an NRA case but we are exploring all options to rectify this.
— NRA (@NRA) March 24, 2021
Several Democrats voiced support of the court’s decision. New Jersey attorney general Gurbir Grewal tweeted his role, along with 10 Democrat-led states, in a tweet following the announcement of the court’s ruling.
Today the Ninth Circuit agreed that laws that limit carrying guns in public are constitutional. Proud that NJ led a brief for 10 states in that case, & proud to support firearm safety laws that protect both the public & law enforcement officers. Read more: https://t.co/5uHC4fGaaW
— AG Gurbir Grewal (@NewJerseyOAG) March 24, 2021
The court ruling will certainly not be the end of this battle. Many Americans cherish their Second Amendment rights, and are unwilling to let such an abrupt ruling against firearms remain unchallenged.
Now that Democrats have rid the nation of Donald Trump, the issue of gun control is back on the table, and President Joe Biden has made it clear that Democrats will stop at nothing in order to strip firearms from the hands of law-abiding American citizens.
The notoriously liberal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals can almost always be relied upon to deliver rulings sympathetic to Democrat causes, and the Biden administration will likely not hesitate to use this ruling to justify its forthcoming gun grab.
The post 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issues devastating anti-2nd amendment ruling first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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