Archive · 3 Jan 2026
US Court Rules California Gun Ban Unconstitutional
A federal court in California recently made a big decision about guns.
They said that a law in California, which stops people from openly carrying guns in most places, is not allowed under the US Constitution.
The court said that carrying guns openly is a tradition that goes back a long time, even before the Bill of Rights was made.
Most of California's population lives in areas where this ban was in place.
The court's decision was mostly in favor of a gun owner who challenged the law, but they didn't agree with his other arguments about gun permits in smaller counties.
The state's attorney general, who supports the gun ban, said they are looking at their options.
This decision is part of a bigger discussion about gun laws across the country, following a major Supreme Court ruling in 2022.
A US appeals court ruled that California's ban on openly carrying firearms in most parts of the state is unconstitutional.
The ruling cited a recent US Supreme Court decision, stating the ban violates Second Amendment rights and conflicts with the nation's historical tradition of open carry.
The court sided 2-1 with gun owner Mark Baird, who challenged the state's prohibition against open carry in counties with more than 200,000 people.
Judge Lawrence VanDyke, a Trump appointee, argued that open carry is a historical practice that predates the Bill of Rights and is allowed in more than 30 states.
The ruling partially reversed a 2023 decision by a lower-court judge who had rejected Baird's 2019 challenge to the law, but it rejected his related challenge to California’s licensing requirements in smaller counties.
- Who
- 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, Mark Baird, California Attorney General Rob Bonta
- What
- Ruling that California's ban on openly carrying firearms in most parts of the state is unconstitutional
- When
- Friday, 2024
- Where
- San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals
- Why
- The ban was found to violate the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, conflicting with the nation's historical tradition of open carry
- Court
- 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals
- Ruling Date
- Friday, 2024
- Majority Decision
- 2-1
- Key Judge
- Lawrence VanDyke
- Dissenting Judge
- N. Randy Smith
- Challenger
- Mark Baird
- Supreme Court Ruling
- New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v Bruen (2022)
