Federal Appeals Court Rules That States Can Restrict Open Carry Of Firearms
The federal appeals court has ruled that states may restrict the open carrying of guns in public, following recent mass shootings.
“There is no right to carry arms openly in public; nor is any such right within the scope of the Second Amendment,” Judge Jay Bybee wrote.
“The contours of the government’s power to regulate arms in the public square is at least this: the government may regulate, and even prohibit, in public places—including government buildings, churches, schools, and markets—the open carrying of small arms capable of being concealed, whether they are carried concealed or openly.”
“Our review of more than 700 years of English and American legal history reveals a strong theme: government has the power to regulate arms in the public square,” he continued.
“History is messy and, as we anticipated, the record is not uniform, but the overwhelming evidence from the states’ constitutions and statutes, the cases, and the commentaries confirms that we have never assumed that individuals have an unfettered right to carry weapons in public spaces.”
Many will oppose the new ruling, however, the measure has been long overdue and citizens will have to prove they have proven fear or imminent threat of danger in order to be able to carry openly.