Court of Appeals allows California’s gun ban to take effect in most public places

A federal appeals court on Saturday allowed California’s ban on carrying firearms in most public places to take effect in 2024, halting a lower court’s ruling that had blocked enforcement of the law.

The state law, Senate Bill 2, places several restrictions on gun ownership, and Governor Gavin Newsom approved it in September. But Judge Cormac Carney of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California blocked enforcement of the law in December, saying the ban on guns in most public places would unconstitutionally “deprive” citizens of their right to bear arms.

Judge Carney wrote in his ruling to issue an injunction that the ban is “sweeping, inconsistent with the Second Amendment, and openly inconsistent with the Supreme Court.”

But the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed the order, allowing the law to take effect Monday while the court needs more time to rule on the law’s constitutionality.

Mr. Newsom, a Democrat, praised the appeals court ruling in a statement, saying it would “allow our common-sense gun laws to remain in effect while we appeal the district court’s dangerous ruling.” ”

The bill’s author, Sen. Anthony Portantino, a Democrat, said he was “cautiously optimistic” that the law could withstand legal challenges. “It is clear that Californians will be safer if SB 2 becomes law,” he said, adding that the restrictions are “in the best interest of the public.”

In addition to banning the carrying of weapons in most public places, the law sets the minimum age for obtaining a gun permit at 21 and adds more requirements for gun safety training before obtaining a new permit.

The public places covered by the law are divided into 26 categories with different locations, including playgrounds, public transport, stadiums, amusement parks and museums. The law also prohibits people from carrying firearms on the property of private businesses unless there is clear signage indicating that this is permitted.

Concealed carry permit holders and other gun rights organizations, including the California Rifle & Pistol Association, the Second Amendment Foundation and the Gun Owners Foundation, have filed a complaint against the provisions banning guns from certain public places.

Judge Carney agreed with the plaintiffs in ruling that the law was too restrictive in permitted places, “effectively abolishing the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding and exceptionally qualified citizens to be armed and defend themselves in public.” ”

But California Attorney General Rob Bonta appealed Judge Carney’s decision argued in a statement that “guns in sensitive public places do not make our communities safer, but rather the opposite. More guns in more sensitive places make the public less safe; the data supports this.”

CD Michel, general counsel for the California Rifle & Pistol Association, said Saturday’s ruling by the appeals court was “not quite a victory” for the state as the court still must rule on the merits of the case.

“For decades, people with public transportation permits have been able to travel to all of these places,” he said.

He called the state law an “attempt to circumvent Bruen,” referring to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in a case, New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, that struck down a New York law restricting the carrying of weapons had limited. weapons outside houses. The Supreme Court dramatically changed the standard for restrictions on firearms with that 2022 decision.

Since then, several states have taken steps to restrict the carrying of firearms. For example, New York has passed a law to prevent people from carrying weapons in “sensitive locations” such as Times Square, public transportation, sporting venues and places of worship. The law has caused confusion and led to numerous lawsuits.

Illinois also banned high-powered weapons this year, in response to a July 4, 2022, mass shooting in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. This month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, based in Chicago, has upheld that ban.

When Mr. Newsom signed the ban on guns in public places into law, he did just that approved a sweeping series of gun safety measures, including micro-stamping gun cartridges to aid in crime detection and an effort to use money from bullet sales to improve gun violence intervention programs and school safety.

David W. Chen And Jonah E. Bromwich reporting contributed.