Peruta v. San Diego to be Reheard by an 11 Judge Panel
We’re headed for the ultimate showdown! The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has made the official order to have Peruta v. San Diego reheard by an “en banc” panel of 11 judges. This followed a series of legal rulings, the first of which was the celebrated decision by a three-judge panel that the San Diego County Sheriff’s refusal to issue licenses to publicly carry firearms without a “demonstrated need” was unconstitutional, and thus a clear violation of the 2nd Amendment. When it became clear that Sheriff Gore was not going to appeal the ruling, California Attorney General Kamala Harris and her anti-gun buddies legally nosed their way into the process; although their requests to join the litigation were denied, she made yet another request for en banc review of the decision that denied them standing. The Court just issued an order, however, that a majority of the Ninth Circuit judges have voted to rehear Peruta en banc and oral arguments have been scheduled for June 15, 2015. On a related note, the Court also decreed that since the decision regarding Richards v. Prieto was made using similar reasoning, this case will be reheard on the same date.
Over the past two years, Gun Owners of California has begun a strategic effort to place a strong emphasis on the courts and in doing so, GOC has become a very significant participant in almost every major Second Amendment-related court case, in both state and federal judicial arenas. GOC bolsters and supports these legal efforts, sometimes filling in gaps in the main case, adding a different legal perspective, or bringing up new issues for the courts to consider. This is done in cooperation with the filer of the original lawsuit to insure that the briefs enhance the main case with critical information. We are eager to enter this stage of the legal battle, and given the details of the initial ruling, we remain cautiously optimistic that the full Court will also rule Peruta v. San Diego to be unconstitutional.