The 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals held en banc arguments yesterday on a firearm rights case. Since the landmark case, DC v Heller, federal appellate courts have differed as to how Heller impacts state and local gun control laws. In Heller, the Supreme Court held that an individual has the right to own firearms on federal land and that the District of Colombia’s gun laws infringed on this right. The question now is how does the 2^nd Amendment apply to the states?

In June the 7^th Circuit found that the 2^nd Amendment does not apply to the states until the Supreme Court rules that it does. The 9^th Circuit disagreed with the 7^th Circuit and found in an April ruling that the 2^nd Amendment should apply more broadly. But with the Supreme Court scheduled to decide whether to grant cert on the issue, the 9^th Circuit is setting aside any more hearings. After yesterday’s en banc arguments, the three-judge panel did uphold an Alameda County, Calif., gun control ordinance, which prohibits firearms in sensitive public places and makes it illegal to have a gun show at the county fairgrounds.  

To grant cert, at least four of the nine judges sitting on the Supreme Court must agree to hear the issue. With conflicting views from the various circuits, there is pressure on The Court to grant cert.