The panel says California’s urban open-carry ban fails the Supreme Court’s history-and-tradition test and cannot stand under the Second Amendment.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Jan. 2 that California’s ban on openly carrying firearms in most of the state violates the Second Amendment.
In Baird v. Bonta, the panel held that the law, which prohibits open carry in counties with populations greater than 200,000—covering roughly 95% of California’s residents—cannot be upheld under the legal framework established in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022).
Judge Lawrence VanDyke, writing for the majority and joined by Judge Kenneth K. Lee concluded that historical tradition demonstrates open carry was “part of this Nation’s history and tradition,” and California failed to identify an analogous tradition supporting its restriction.
The decision reversed a 2023 U.S. District Court judgement that had upheld the ban and remanded the case with instructions to enter judgement for plaintiff Mark Baird, a Siskiyou County resident challenging the regime.
The appellate opinion emphasized that under Bruen, modern firearm laws must be consistent with historical practices at the time of the founding and the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment.
In the majority’s view, California’s urban open-carry restriction did not meet that standard, making the ban unconstitutional as applied.
Judge N. Randy Smith dissented in part, arguing that restricting one form of public carry, such as open carry, could be permissible if another form — such as concealed carry — remains available.
The panel also declined to invalidate California’s separate licensing regime for open carry in less populous counties, finding that issue was not properly preserved on appeal.
California officials have indicated they will consider seeking rehearing by the full Ninth Circuit or pursue review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
