Concealed Guns Not Protected by 2nd Amendment, Circuit Court Says

California's 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 7-4 Thursday upholding a law restricting private citizens' rights to carry concealed firearms in public.

The law requires that individuals can only get a concealed carry license if they show that they have "good cause" to do so.

Today's ruling adds to divisions among the interpretations over the Second Amendment in lower courts over regulations limiting the individual right to carry guns. The Supreme Court has yet to rule on these issues.

Five gun owners, along with the California Rifle and Pistol Association Foundation, filed the suit against the County of San Diego, the sheriff William Gore and the state of California, challenged the requirement that they have a good reason in order to obtain a concealed carry permit. California's Solicitor General, Edward DuMont, argued the case on behalf of the state.

According to the summary of the 9th Circuit's ruling, "The right of a member of the general public to carry a concealed firearm in public is not, and never has been, protected by the Second Amendment."

It continues: "Any prohibition or restriction a state may choose to impose on concealed carry — including a requirement of 'good cause,' however defined — is necessarily allowed by the Amendment."

The Supreme Court's most recent significant ruling on the Second Amendment in 2008, District of Columbia v. Heller, found that there is an individual right to own a gun in one's home for self-defense.

Writing in a dissent, Judge Conseulo Callahan held that, "The Defendant counties' limited licensing of the right to carry concealed firearms is tantamount to a total ban on the right of an ordinary citizen to carry a firearm in the public for self-defense. Thus, Plaintiff's Second Amendment rights have been violated."

Attorney General Kamala Harris expressed support for the ruling in a statement, saying that it "ensures that local law enforcement leaders have the tools they need to protect public safety by determining who can carry loaded, concealed weapons in our communities."

Sheriff Gore of San Diego County, who was named in the lawsuit, issued a statement including the following:

Based on today's decision, the procedure of obtaining a license to carry a concealed weapon within the County of San Diego will continue as it has since the 1980s. As always, anyone who believes that they may have circumstances which place them in harm's way, and necessitate the ability to carry a concealed firearm, can apply for a license with the Sheriff's Licensing Division. Good cause is evaluated on an individual basis.

This ruling raises the likelihood that the gun control issue will play a significant role in the upcoming presidential election. With an open seat on the Supreme Court most likely to be filled by the next president's nominee, and concealed carry cases all but certain to come before the justices, the stakes for gun rights and gun control advocates are high.

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