Not so wild West

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I don’t know how accurate the old Western flicks are that my grandparents seem to be watching every time I’m there, but back then men wore six-guns on their hip like they were standard issue.

Welp, times are a changin’.

Fast forward about a hundred years and thanks to a June 9 decision by the full 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, about the only folks carrying a gun out West are going to be police and judges. (A friend of mine, a captain with a large sheriff’s office in California, texted me after the gavel struck and said that in light of this 7-4 decision, he expects that all criminals and miscreants will likely comply and immediately cease their heat-packing.)

The court overruled its own three-judge panel, finding that sheriffs are not violating Second Amendment rights by requiring citizens to show “good cause” when applying for a concealed carry permit.

“Good cause” here, broadly and vaguely, means circumstances that place an individual in harm’s way. According to the court, personal safety alone is not a good cause.

Judge William Fletcher wrote for the majority, saying lawmakers are free to enact “any prohibition or restriction a state may choose” regarding concealed carry.

The ruling—which came just days after South Carolina’s Gov. Nikki Haley signed a bill making Georgia the 22nd state with which it shares concealed carry reciprocity—is yet another indicator of just how differently the Second Amendment is interpreted across the country.

In an email to Lawyers Weekly, Haley called the right to bear arms “undeniable.”

“As a concealed weapons permit (CWP) holder myself, I fully support your right to protect yourself and your family in a safe and responsible way,” Haley wrote. “South Carolina is a good neighbor in this respect as well, participating in permit reciprocity with … states whose laws are compatible with our own.”

By that she means states that take steps to ensure that only qualified individuals are licensed to carry hidden firearms. Both North Carolina and South Carolina require background checks, classroom training and range time. Georgia doesn’t require range time, which is why South Carolina initially hesitated to honor its permits.

So while many citizens within the 9th Circuit are disarmed for “public safety,” it’s clear that firearm-friendly states like the Carolinas believe responsible gun owners—not gunslinging outlaws—are plenty safe.

“As your governor, I will work to ensure that your Second Amendment rights are always secure,” Haley wrote.

“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,” Fletcher opined.

Stark contrast, indeed.