Ninth Circuit Upholds Federal Gun Ban for Felons in Key Appeal

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal law prohibiting felons, including non-violent offenders, from possessing firearms, reversing a prior ruling that had temporarily restored gun rights to Steven Duarte, a California man convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The court found that the permanent disarmament of felons aligns with historical traditions of firearms regulation dating back to the nation's founding, as required by the 2022 Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw emphasized that non-violent felons still represent a special danger and that courts across the country have upheld similar laws post-Bruen. Duarte was caught attempting to discard a handgun during a police stop and had a history of non-violent offenses. This ruling contributes to the broader judicial effort to interpret Second Amendment rights in light of recent Supreme Court decisions, including the limitation set in U.S. v. Rahimi regarding bans on firearm possession by certain individuals. Similar legal reasoning was applied in other states, such as Ohio, where courts upheld concealed-carry restrictions despite Second Amendment challenges.