Overview
- In a 2–1 decision relying on the Supreme Court’s Bruen test, the court invalidated California’s prohibition on open carry in counties with more than 200,000 residents.
- The panel left in place the state’s licensing framework for smaller counties and did not disturb sensitive-place restrictions.
- Open carry remains unlawful for now as the mandate has not issued, and law enforcement continues to enforce the existing prohibition.
- California officials are weighing next steps, with potential en banc review at the Ninth Circuit and a possible petition to the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Analysts warn the decision’s history-and-tradition reasoning could expose modern measures such as background checks and felon-in-possession bans, even as social norms and retailer policies urging no open carry suggest limited practical uptake in major cities.