9th Circuit rules 2nd Amendment applies to state and local govts as well as federal
One of the more important concepts in Constitutional law is that of “incorporation.” Under the 14th Amendment’s due process clause the restrictions against government actions and protections of citizens’ rights described in the Constitution are held to be in effect upon state and local governments. Those protections are “incorporated” into state and local law. For example, the 1st Amendment rights regarding freedom of religion are considered to be as protected against actions taken by your town council as they are against Congress.
While no one argues the notion that the 1st Amendment protections only apply to the federal government, gun control advocates have consistently argued that 2nd Amendment protections do not protect against state and local laws abridging the right to keep and bear arms. They argue that no court has ruled the 2nd Amendment is incorporated under the 14th Amendment.
They can make that argument no longer. Last month, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a case where the Alameda County Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance banning firearms on county property. Local business owners Russell and Sallie Nordyke filed a suit against the county which eventually wound up before the 9th. While the Court actually upheld the ordinance they included in their ruling the finding that the 2nd Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms for all law-abiding Americans. In the text of the ruling itself (PDF) on page 4496 (the 29th page of the PDF) the 9th clearly states that the 2nd Amendment is incorporated and it applies against both state and local governments.
[12] We therefore conclude that the right to keep and bear arms is “deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition.” Colonial Revolutionaries, the Founders, and a host of commentators and lawmakers living during the first one hundred years of the Republic all insisted on the fundamental nature of the right. It has long been regarded as the “true palladium of liberty.” Colonists relied on it to assert and to win their independence, and the victorious Union sought to prevent a recalcitrant South from abridging it less than a century later. The crucial role this deeply rooted right has played in our birth and history compels us to recognize that it is indeed fundamental, that it is necessary to the Anglo-American conception of ordered liberty that we have inherited.17 We are therefore persuaded that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment incorporates the Second Amendment and applies it against the states and local governments.
Emphasis mine. Of all of the Circuit Courts, I would believe it if someone were to assert that this Court would attempt any method to avoid reaching that conclusion. Their analysis is long (read it yourself if you like) but the conclusion is inescapable. I believe other Courts in this country will follow this finding as precedent, but you should probably consult a lawyer before you rely on that.
This is great news for advocates of the 2nd Amendment!
