The California Rifle and Pistol Association and a group of Los Angeles County residents have filed a suit to “block” state prohibitions against openly carrying a gun.
The suit is the result of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ refusal to revisit its ruling that Americans have no right to carry a concealed gun outside the home. They issued this ruling on June 9 and on August 15 rejected a request to give the case another hearing before the full court.
Because the Ninth Circuit’s decision revolves around concealed firearms, the new suit seeks to block laws that bar openly carrying guns in public. In 2012 the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a constitutional right to open carry, so the new suit portends a circuit split if it ultimately results in the Ninth Circuit ruling differently than the Seventh. And circuit splits get the Supreme Court’s attention.
The Los Angeles Times reports the open carry suit was “filed in Los Angeles federal district court [and] named Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris and Los Angeles County Sheriff James McDonnell at defendants.” It is the second open carry lawsuit in the state of California. Another is “already pending in the Ninth Circuit.”
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.