U.S. Supreme Court Turns Away Handgun Concealed-Carry Appeal
Handgun Concealed-Carry Appeal Turned Away by U.S. Supreme Court
(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Supreme Court declined to loosen restrictions on carrying firearms in public, rejecting an appeal by two Californians who said they were unconstitutionally denied concealed-carry licenses.
The high court has turned away gun-rights appeals repeatedly since its last Second Amendment case in 2010. Advocates are hoping new Justice Brett Kavanaugh will help make the court more receptive to gun-rights arguments.
The latest case had procedural issues that may have dissuaded the court from taking it. The challengers, Sacramento County residents James Rothery and Andrea Hoffman, sought concealed-carry permits more than a decade ago, when the county had a more restrictive policy in place.
California law requires residents to show “good cause” to get a concealed-carry permit, but leaves it up to county sheriffs and other local officials to determine how to apply that standard. Sacramento County adopted a looser policy after a new sheriff took over in 2010, and California officials say Rothery has since been issued a permit.
The case is Rothery v. Blanas, 18-121.
To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Stohr in Washington at gstohr@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asséo, Ros Krasny
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