Carrying Concealed Weapons Not A Right, Appeals Court Rules

California counties have the right to restrict permits for carrying concealed firearms in public, the Ninth Circuit Appeals Court ruled in a 7-4 decision this week. Some legal observers said the ruling – which says the Second Amendment does not give people the right to carry a concealed gun – makes it more likely that the Supreme Court may weigh in. “The 2nd Amendment may or may not protect to some degree a right of a member of the general public to carry a firearm in public,” Judge William A. Fletcher wrote in the ruling. “If there is such a right, it is only a right to carry a firearm openly. … Because the 2nd Amendment does not protect in any degree the right to carry concealed firearms in public, 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 dissenting judges argued that California’s rules on carrying concealed were too restrictive.