SHOT DOWN

Appeals Court: Constitution Gives Right to Carry Gun in Public

A federal appeals court ruled that the Second Amendment protects the right.

A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the Second Amendment gives people the right to carry a gun in public. The 2-1 ruling by a judicial panel in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals strikes down a lower court ruling that the Second Amendment only grants people the right to keep guns in their homes. “We do not take lightly the problem of gun violence,” Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain wrote in the decision. “But, for better or for worse, the Second Amendment does protect a right to carry a firearm in public for self-defense.” Plaintiff George Young contended that the state of Hawaii infringed on his right to carry a gun by denying him a permit to carry a gun outside. Young’s attorney, Alan Beck, told Reuters he believes the issue could reach the Supreme Court.