A divided federal appeals court, upholding a Hawaii gun regulation, decided Wednesday that states may restrict the open carrying of guns in public.
In a 7-4 decision, an en banc panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said restrictions on carrying guns in public except for hunting do not violate the 2nd Amendment’s guarantee of the right to bear arms.
“The government may regulate, and even prohibit, in public places — including government buildings, churches, schools, and markets — the open carrying of small arms capable of being concealed, whether they are carried concealed or openly,” Judge Jay Bybee, appointed by President George W. Bush, wrote for the majority.
He said a review of more than 700 years of American and English law showed that government has long had the power to regulate arms in public places.
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