Federal Appeals Court: No Constitutional Right to Concealed Carry

After eight years of President Obama — and now the prospect of President Hillary Clinton — it is not surprising that many activist judges are following their lead regarding Americans’ Second Amendment rights.

A federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled Thursday that people do not have a Second Amendment right to carry concealed weapons in public, in a sweeping decision likely to be challenged by gun-rights advocates.

An 11-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the 7-4 ruling, upholding a state law requiring applicants to show “good cause,” such as a fear of personal safety, to carry a concealed firearm.

The judges, further, definitively dismissed the argument that a right to carry a concealed weapon was contained in the Second Amendment.

“We hold that the Second Amendment does not preserve or protect a right of a member of the general public to carry concealed firearms in public,” Judge William Fletcher wrote in the majority opinion.

If challenged, it could set up a Supreme Court battle.

Critics have long charged that the 9th Circuit has a history of liberal-leaning decisions. Thursday’s ruling overturns a 2014 ruling by a smaller panel, and resulted from a case in which a sheriff in San Diego County required applicants to show supporting documents, such as restraining orders against attackers, in order to get a permit.

Celebrities who fear for their safety and those who routinely carry large amounts of cash were often given permits.

Judge Consuelo M. Callahan, dissenting in Thursday’s ruling, said the restrictions were tantamount to an infringement of the Second Amendment rights of Americans.

This case will undoubtedly go to the United States Supreme Court following the inevitable challenge by supporters of the Second Amendment.  This makes the filling of the late Antonin Scalia’s empty seat even more important than ever.

Source: Fox News