A District Court judge ruled on Tuesday that California should allow non-residents to apply for concealed carry weapons (CCWs) licenses.
Cathy Ann Bencivengo, a U.S. District Court judge for the Southern District of California, issued an order which granted summary judgment after finding the state’s “provisions barring nonresidents from applying for CCW licenses violate the Constitution.” The plaintiffs in the case, who are not California residents, complained that they have been prohibited from carrying a firearm for self-defense when they visit the state, according to Bencivengo’s order.
“Opening the application process to nonresidents does not limit California’s ability to regulate who receives a CCW license based on other measured parameters,” according to the order. “Nonresidents are simply afforded the same chance guaranteed to residents to exercise their Second Amendment rights.”
The lawsuit’s plaintiffs are members of the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), a gun rights organization. The group describes its mission as restoring “the essential right to keep and bear arms throughout the U.S.”
Bencivengo wrote in her order that the parties in the lawsuit are required to “meet and confer and submit a proposed order for an injunction consistent with this order within 30 days.”
Former President Barack Obama nominated Bencivengo in May 2011, and the Senate confirmed her in February 2012.
When asked for a comment, FPC referred the Daily Caller News Foundation to its statement on the decision.
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