On Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled that the right to bear arms has historically also included the right to acquire firearms.
The case, Teixeira v. County of Alameda, is based on Alameda County zoning rules for incorporated areas that not only require a gun store owner to obtain requisite local, state and federal permits for the business, but also make sure “the proposed location of the business is not within five hundred feet of a ‘[r]esidentially zoned district; elementary, middle or high school; pre-school or daycare center; other firearms sales business; or liquor stores or establishments in which liquor is served.’”
Writing in the majority opinion, 9th Circuit Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain emphasized, “Our forefathers recognized that the prohibition of commerce in firearms worked to undermine the right to keep and to bear arms.” In making the ruling, the court remanded the case back to the lower court.
