Ah, that nutty, left-wing Ninth Circuit. We all know what it's about. Of course it upheld today San Francisco's requirement that firearms be stored with either a trigger lock and/or in a locked container, as well as its ban on the sale of hollow-point bullets. What else would one expect from a court packed with liberals and demonstrably hostile to the Second Amendment?
That's a consistent refrain. After this morning's opinion, you'll presumably hear it a lot.
The hard part, however, will be explaining why today's opinion is authored by Judge Ikuta. Hardly a left-winger. Even in part. As well as joined by Judge Milan Smith (as well as Judge Nelson).
That's not a panel that's actively looking to uphold gun regulations. Far from it. Plus, there's lots in the opinion that unambiguously takes the Second Amendment incredibly seriously.
Sometimes cases gets decided on, well, the merits. Here, the Ninth Circuit holds that the regulations satisfy intermediate scrutiny and could advance reasonable state interests in preventing deaths from firearms. Other municipalities could (and have) concluded otherwise. But San Francisco has gone the other way. Something that's permitted by the Second Amendment.
Let the gnashing of teeth begin.
