(AP) — A federal appeals court says the Second Amendment right to bear arms includes a right to purchase and sell guns, and requires that governments justify restrictions on gun stores.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday reversed a district court ruling that dismissed a lawsuit brought by three men who wanted to open a gun store in California's Alameda County. The men challenged a county ordinance that prohibits gun stores within 500 feet of a residential area.
The 9th Circuit in a 2-1 ruling said the county ordinance implicates the Second Amendment, so the county has to present evidence to justify its 500-foot restriction and can't simply assert that gun stores increase crime.
A call to the Alameda County counsel's office was not immediately returned.
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