SAN FRANCISCO, CA — A significant new development has emerged in the long‑running legal battle over California’s open carry restrictions. In Baird v. Bonta, a three‑judge panel of the San Francisco‑based Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 2‑1 decision ruling that California’s prohibition on openly carrying firearms in counties with more than 200,000 residents violates the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
The panel, in an opinion written by Judge Lawrence VanDyke and joined by Judge Kenneth K. Lee, held that the state’s ban on open carry in its most populous counties — encompassing roughly 95 percent of the state’s population — cannot be justified under the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen historical tradition test. Under the Bruen framework, a gun regulation must be consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. The majority found that open carry historically has been part of this nation’s traditions of bearing arms and that California failed to show a historical analogue for its urban open‑carry ban.
Judge N. Randy Smith dissented in part, arguing that because California allows concealed carry statewide, it may lawfully restrict open carry without violating the Second Amendment. The dissent maintained that limiting the manner in which firearms are carried still permits lawful self‑defense and falls within the state’s police powers.
The appeals court also addressed California’s licensing scheme for open carry in less populous counties. While the panel reversed the lower court’s summary judgment for California as to the urban ban, it left intact the theoretical licensing process in counties with populations under 200,000, which the state claims is a “shall‑issue” regime despite the apparent absence of any issued permits.
This ruling marks a notable victory for gun owners challenging modern firearm regulations under the expanded Second Amendment protections established by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision. However, the decision is likely to face further review. California officials have signaled an intention to seek rehearing by the full Ninth Circuit, and the case could ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
From a Second Amendment standpoint, this appellate panel’s ruling reinforces the constitutional protection of open carry as part of the fundamental right to keep and bear arms, particularly where the challenged state law lacks historical precedent and effectively prohibits a commonly exercised mode of arm carrying for millions of residents.
