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With 9th Circuit Set to Hear Firearms Case En Banc, Calif. AG Walks Line on Gun Control
The Recorder
September 22, 2009
A hard-fought firearms case is coming to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for en banc arguments Thursday, with the usual gun groups weighing in as amici on the usual sides.
Though the case arose in Alameda County, Calif., home to California Attorney General Jerry Brown, he hasn't submitted briefs. But in another case across the country, involving the same issue, Brown filed an amicus that has gun control advocates shaking their heads.
After the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided that the Second Amendment didn't apply to state or local governments -- and therefore upheld a local handgun ordinance -- Brown joined those asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the ruling.
The move throws a spotlight on how Brown, a presumed candidate for the governorship, handles this sometimes socially divisive issue. His 7th Circuit brief disappointed -- but didn't surprise -- Juliet Leftwich, the legal director of Legal Communities Against Violence in San Francisco.
"He just stands in stark contrast to Bill Lockyer, who was an active leader in this area," she said.
According to Leftwich, Brown hasn't co-sponsored any firearms-related legislation or fought gun rights groups as hard as the previous administration. "There's been a sea change under Jerry Brown," she said.
Chief Deputy Attorney General James Humes said the Justice Department does plenty to stanch the scourge of guns but simply believes in different approaches to the problem.
"I would say Jerry Brown is much more interested in law enforcement than legislation," said Humes.
Under Brown's leadership, Humes said the department has seized 1,194 firearms and arrested 87 individuals on California's list of those prohibited from carrying firearms. Authorities have also nabbed people illegally transporting guns into the state after buying them at shows in Nevada.
As for the attorney general's position in the 7th Circuit case, Humes calls it a "common-sense" approach. "The Second Amendment exists, and it will exist whether we like it or not," he said.
The legal issue took shape after the U.S. Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller struck down the capital's handgun ban as unconstitutional. However, justices left unanswered whether their ruling should apply more broadly.
Now appellate courts are grappling with the question. In a case revolving around a gun show at the Alameda County fairgrounds, a 9th Circuit panel earlier this year reached the opposite conclusion than did the 7th. But the full 9th Circuit decided to hear the case en banc.
According to Humes, the AG didn't weigh in on the 9th Circuit case because he agreed with part of the ruling -- the panel had simultaneously affirmed the county's right to regulate guns beyond the home, in sensitive public places. Indeed, Brown argued for similar treatment in his 7th Circuit brief. The attorney general also held up the 9th Circuit panel ruling as evidence that such high court guidance was necessary.
Of course, if liberals on the court can undo the panel ruling and align with the other circuits, it may lessen just this kind of pressure.
When it comes to the politics, San Francisco political analyst David Latterman says that while Brown's stance may not help in a Democratic primary, older or rural voters could be sympathetic.
"It doesn't help Jerry Brown politically among Democrats, but it doesn't crush him either," he said.
En banc arguments are scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday in San Francisco. The Supreme Court has not yet announced whether it will hear the 7th Circuit case.
