Federal court rules against California’s open carry gun ban
Updated: 10:46 AM PST Jan 9, 2026
A federal appeals court has ruled that California’s ban on openly carrying firearms in large counties violates the Second Amendment, following a case brought by Mark Baird, a resident of rural Siskiyou County.”My question is to the state of California and to the court. Do we have enumerated rights or don’t we?” Baird said. “This has less to do with the gun than it does the liberty. You know, the state is very quick to say, oh, it will return to the Wild West. Well, we could open carry a weapon in 2012. Was that the Wild West? Were the streets running red with blood in 2012, when it was perfectly unremarkable for people to carry an unloaded pistol on their hip and the magazine in their other pocket?”Despite the ruling, open carry remains illegal, and law enforcement will continue to enforce the prohibition. If the attorney general decides to appeal the decision, the case could first go to the entire Ninth Circuit and potentially end up at the U.S. Supreme Court.See more coverage of top Central Coast stories | Download our app / Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
SALINAS, Calif. —
A federal appeals court has ruled that California’s ban on openly carrying firearms in large counties violates the Second Amendment, following a case brought by Mark Baird, a resident of rural Siskiyou County.
“My question is to the state of California and to the court. Do we have enumerated rights or don’t we?” Baird said. “This has less to do with the gun than it does the liberty. You know, the state is very quick to say, oh, it will return to the Wild West. Well, we could open carry a weapon in 2012. Was that the Wild West? Were the streets running red with blood in 2012, when it was perfectly unremarkable for people to carry an unloaded pistol on their hip and the magazine in their other pocket?”
Despite the ruling, open carry remains illegal, and law enforcement will continue to enforce the prohibition.
If the attorney general decides to appeal the decision, the case could first go to the entire Ninth Circuit and potentially end up at the U.S. Supreme Court.
See more coverage of top Central Coast stories | Download our app / Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel