Ninth Circuit Holds that Second Amendment Applies to States

This week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit marked a milestone in Second Amendment history by ruling that the Second Amendment applies to the states through the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  NRA has been involved in, and supportive of, this case for the past ten years and has filed several amicus briefs in the case. 

"The historic Heller decision was a major victory for law-abiding gun owners and recognized that the federal government and the District of Columbia cannot infringe on our Right to Keep and Bear Arms," said NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox.  "This week's decision, which applies to the states in the Ninth Circuit (Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington), ensures that the fundamental freedoms affirmed in Heller are not just limited to the residents of Washington, D.C." 

In 1999, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance that made it a misdemeanor to possess a firearm on county property, effectively banning gun shows. This ordinance affected a local business, owned by Russell and Sallie Nordyke, which promotes gun shows throughout California.  In an attempt to continue holding their gun shows on the Alameda county fairgrounds property, the Nordykes filed suit to strike down the ordinance. 

The Ninth Circuit upheld the ordinance banning guns on county property, but found, consistent with the views of most Second Amendment scholars, that the Second Amendment protects the Right to Keep and Bear Arms for all law-abiding Americans. 

"The NRA shares the Nordykes' disappointment with the ruling on the county ordinance, as gun shows should not be discriminated against by local government entities.  The incorporation portion of the decision, however, is a major step forward in protecting our Second Amendment freedoms," said Cox. 

"This decision brings us closer to seeing Heller applied throughout the land," concluded Cox.  "After nearly 10 years of litigation, the hard work of the Nordykes, their attorneys, Donald Kilmer and Don Kates, and NRA's legal team has resulted in this week's historic decision."