Friday, February 14, 2014

Hell Hath Frozen Over - 9th Circuit Strikes Down Discretionary 'Good Cause" Requirement For Firearm Carry

Certainly, it's another sign of the impending apocalypse, or that the latest cold snap caused by Global Warming freezing over the netherworld, if you believe in that kind of thing.

In a rather impressively well-written opinion, a panel of the the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down the discretionary and indeed discriminatory "Good Cause" standard that was in place in San Diego County whereby law abiding citizens were denied concealed carry permits. Under that standard you either had to make an appropriate campaign donation, be "connected", orpractically be already dead from a prior attack before they would issue you a carry permit.

The opinion rightly concludes:

San Diego County's "Good Cause" permitting requirements impermissibly infringes on the Second Amendment right to bear arms in lawful self-defense.

If you had told me a few years back that in 2014 the 9th Circuit would have issued an opinion affirming both the individual rights aspect of the Second Amendment and striking down the typical California government discriminatory approach to issuing carry permits I would have laughed in disbelief.

Nice to see the 9th recognizing and upholding an inalienable human right.

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