The California Rifle & Pistol Association filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday after the Ninth U.S. Circuit of Appeals refused to reconsider its ruling in Peruta v. County of San Diego declaring that residents do not have a right to carry a concealed firearm outside their home. CRPA’s lawsuit is supported by the NRA.
In Peruta, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit ruled the “good cause” policy of denying concealed carry licenses to law-abiding citizens was unconstitutional. The case was then reheard by an en banc panel—they ruled in June that it is not a Second Amendment violation to deny these licenses. On Monday, the Ninth Circuit declined to have the case reheard.
The new lawsuit, Flanagan v. Harris, challenges California’s open carry laws and will likely force the court to finally address whether the Second Amendment protects the right of law-abiding citizens to carry a firearm for self-defense.
