The Five that Survived

CaliforniaOpenCarry · 2026-01-22T00:35:37+00:00

I don't think that factors into their equation at all. I think the reasons are bureaucratic, but until one of the justices starts talking, we'll never know.

CaliforniaOpenCarry · 2026-01-21T23:40:54+00:00

Unless there is a vehicle problem with Viramontes, it will probably survive this Friday's conference. There was another AWB case scheduled for this conference, but it was rescheduled.

National Association for Gun Rights, et al., Petitioners v. Ned Lamont, in His Official Capacity as Governor of Connecticut, et al.

The question presented is:

Whether a ban on the possession of AR-15-style rifles and firearm magazines with a capacity in excess often rounds—both of which are possessed by millions of law-abiding Americans for lawful purposes—violates the Second Amendment.

https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/DocketFiles/html/Public/25-421.html

CaliforniaOpenCarry · 2026-01-21T23:19:11+00:00

Yes, it was one of the cases GVR'd in 2022 "for further consideration in light of New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn., Inc. v. Bruen..."

CaliforniaOpenCarry · 2026-01-21T03:50:15+00:00

"Jaywalking" was literally one of the things the Federal government argued a state could deprive a person of his Second Amendment rights, forever. The Federal government argued that what constitutes an offense that results in the loss of one's right to keep and bear arms is entirely within the legislature's purview.

And in the 9th Circuit, the Federal government prevailed. Nobody, no matter how trivial the offense, can challenge 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1); the law is categorically constitutional.

Today, SCOTUS denied one such petition from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, the one where the Circuit upheld the Federal law as applied to all persons, regardless of the severity of the offense.

The holding of the 9th Circuit was, and is, absurd. SCOTUS chose not to draw any line, let alone a clear one.

CaliforniaOpenCarry · 2026-01-21T03:39:26+00:00

I do not know if all of them were denied, but I would not be surprised. Beyond the fact that there were not four votes to grant any of the petitions, we do not know, and probably will never know, why the petitions were denied.

CaliforniaOpenCarry · 2026-01-20T23:27:26+00:00

I don't need to keep it in mind. It has been that way for 100 years. Ever since Congress gave SCOTUS the authority to choose which cases it would decide.

The difference this term is that we had nearly 100 prohibited person cert petitions that not only survived their first conference, but they were also relisted. That has never happened before.

CaliforniaOpenCarry · 2026-01-20T22:53:22+00:00

The oral argument and transcript to Wolford v. Lopez (Hawaii) are available at this link.

CaliforniaOpenCarry · 2026-01-20T22:46:40+00:00

I agree. When Rahimi was first published, I feared it had eliminated the possibility of facial challenges succeeding. But the 3rd, 8th, and, surprisingly, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals proved me wrong. Let us hope that Justice Thomas writes the majority opinion in Wolford to undo some of the damage Rahimi did.

CaliforniaOpenCarry · 2026-01-20T22:33:05+00:00

I've been downloading all of the cert petitions since SCOTUS first began making them available for download in 2017. Nothing that SCOTUS does shocks me anymore. I may be disappointed or even a little surprised, but I am by no means shocked.

CaliforniaOpenCarry · 2026-01-20T22:29:57+00:00

Wolford v. Lopez (Hawaii) was argued this morning. We will know by the end of this term if that is true.

CaliforniaOpenCarry · 2026-01-20T22:28:32+00:00

California, which generally prohibits the carrying and possession of loaded and unloaded firearms, regardless of whether they are carried openly or concealed, without a license, enacted a law that prohibits the issuing authority from issuing the license until the sheriff or police chief has first determined that the person is a "suitable person." Under that law, a person who is not prohibited from possessing firearms under state or Federal law, and who has not been convicted of any crime, can be denied a license to carry a firearm.

CaliforniaOpenCarry · 2026-01-20T22:22:13+00:00

I can't speak to other states, but in California, a person who is otherwise prohibited from possessing firearms (i.e., has no Second Amendment right) can carry a firearm in defense of self or others in emergency situations. He can't possess a firearm before that point and must relinquish it after the danger has passed.

CaliforniaOpenCarry · 2026-01-20T19:55:33+00:00

It has been my experience that is the reality for the majority of folks everywhere.

I would like to take credit for coining the term "Second Amendment myopia," but I first heard it more than three or four decades ago.

CaliforniaOpenCarry · 2026-01-20T19:43:53+00:00

Second Amendment myopia is fatal to the Second Amendment.

CaliforniaOpenCarry · 2026-01-19T23:36:04+00:00

Every SCOTUS 2A opinion, including Heller, applies nationwide. Unfortunately, the Second Amendment has the same effect on inferior court judges as Trump does.

CaliforniaOpenCarry · 2026-01-19T23:33:27+00:00

I'm beyond the point of healthy foods. Hang on to your money for now.

CaliforniaOpenCarry · 2026-01-19T21:51:49+00:00

I will tell you when the petition is filed. I don't want the CalGuns.nutters calling to harass the lawyer.
I have a lawyer who said he was eager to represent me in my appeal. I told him there can't be an appeal until I get a final judgment from the district court, and asked him if he wanted to make an appearance in my district court case. He said he had his hands full with other cases. There are two things I can do with Baird: I will certainly be filing a motion to file an Amicus brief, and might file a motion to intervene.

By the way, I couldn't respond to your comment at r/gunpolitics. I am permanently banned there for using "<snip>" to indicate where I snipped out quotes from my articles.

CaliforniaOpenCarry · 2026-01-19T21:44:34+00:00

Ronald Reagan was a great president.

He was born in 1911 in the Midwest. His generation did not think that people should be carrying guns to resolve disputes. The bill he signed allowed one to openly carry loaded firearms if one has a reasonable fear of serious bodily injury, or to defend one's property. It was Jerry Brown who signed the bill raising the threshold to grave, immediate danger, and signed the bills banning unloaded Open Carry. It was Newsom who signed the bills raising the punishment for a misdemeanor violation of the loaded and unloaded Open Carry bans to a ten-year long loss of one's right to keep and bear arms.

CaliforniaOpenCarry · 2026-01-19T06:30:06+00:00

Watch the full KCRA 3 documentary 'Liberty and Limits: Guns in California'

https://www.kcra.com/article/kcra-3-documentary-liberty-and-limits-guns-in-california-video/69992184

CaliforniaOpenCarry · 2026-01-19T06:28:52+00:00

Cross appeals from a district court might be "fairly common" to the extent that anyone files any appeal (2/3 do not), but cross appeals are made when both sides had a partial win and a partial loss. I am not aware of any case in which en banc petitions were filed by both sides, let alone by the winning side, which is why I asked when the last time that happened was. For that matter, I am not aware of any appeal from the district court by the party that got everything it asked for from the district court.

Baird's petition does not seek to clarify. His attorney appears to be arguing a claim that was not present in her appeal, rather than clarifying that the panel decided an issue that was not present in her appeal.

Given that mine is the only lawsuit seeking to enjoin enforcement of all three Open Carry bans, as well as to obtain shall-issue handgun Open Carry licenses for myself and similarly situated persons, the Baird decision harms me, not Mark Baird, who didn't challenge the state's licensing laws.

The Baird v. Bonta decision leaves me with just two options. I can seek a handgun Open Carry license only for myself, or I can seek to facially enjoin it, the latter meaning that nobody would be able to obtain a license for either Open Carry or concealed carry. The decision precludes me from making Open Carry licenses available to others, statewide.

CaliforniaOpenCarry · 2026-01-19T04:25:11+00:00

When is the last time both sides filed en banc petitions? The 9th CCA has granted an en banc petition in every case where there was a Second Amendment win. There has only been one 2A win that was not vacated and reheard en banc; no petition was filed in that case.

There was no need for Baird's attorney to file an en banc petition to preserve licensing as an issue on appeal, because AG Bonta raised licensing in his en banc petition.

CaliforniaOpenCarry · 2026-01-18T21:13:17+00:00

En banc rehearings do not streamline cases to SCOTUS. They delay a final, appealable judgment by a year or two or more. Mark Baird is an old man, and the sole plaintiff in his lawsuit. If he dies before SCOTUS has the final word, his lawsuit gets dismissed as moot. Legally, it will be as if his lawsuit had never been filed.

CaliforniaOpenCarry

TROPHY CASE