Is open carry coming to Fresno after gun law change? What 2 county officials say

A U.S. appellate court decision last week has left some Fresno County guns owners wondering if, and when, they can start carrying their firearms open and in public.

The ruling came from a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and reverses a law that bans so-called “open carry” in urban areas in California; those with populations above 200,000. That includes Fresno County.

Fresno County does license permits to carry concealed firearms and has historically had among the largest number of permit holders in the state. More than 45,00 were issued from 2012 to 2021, according to Department of Justice data from 2022.

News of the potential change in the state law has caused confused.

“It’s really going to cause challenges,” for police and other law enforcement, Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig said in a video posted to his social media Monday.

“As soon as this ruling came forward ... my phone started ringing,” he said “A lot of people were calling me saying ‘Hey this means I can carry firearms right now. I don’t have a CCW.’”

So, is it legal to open carry in Fresno County?

To be clear: “As a general matter it is unlawful under California law to publicly carry a firearm without a license to do so,” according to U.S. Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke, writing in the court’s opinion on the case. That is regardless of whether the gun is concealed or visible in a holster or otherwise exposed to public view.

That will remain the law until the court issues an official remand of judgment, according to Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni, who joined Magsig in the video message.

That will happen within the next 21 days, Zanoni said. The California Attorney General, however, could call for a full review from the full 9th Circuit, which would ultimately put the law on the radar of the Supreme Court.

In a statement, Attorney General Rob Bonta said the state is committed to defending “commonsense gun laws” and that his office is “reviewing the opinion and considering all options.”

And even if the ruling stands, there’s some question whether open carry would be allowed unconditionally, or retain some kind of permitting process.

There are currently 30 California counties with populations under 200,000 that could issue open carry permits “so, you can carry exposed, fully loaded,” as Zanoni put it.

The original lawsuit originated out of one of those counties, with the plaintiff challenging the restrictions under the Second and Fourteenth Amendments. He argued he should be able to open-carry for self-defense throughout the state.

It will be interesting, Zanoni said, to see if that language remains part of any final decision “and whether Fresno can actually issue an open-carry permit for you to carry a loaded firearm, exposed on your person.”

“So, we shall wait and see.”

In the meantime, the Sheriff’s Office will continue to enforce the law as it is currently written.

“Right now,” Zanoni said, “follow the law.”

Valley counties vocal on Second Amendment

In July, Fresno County’s Board of Supervisors signed a resolution declaring its support for the Second Amendment and reaffirming its commitment to protect the rights of icitizens “to keep and bear arms for purposes including self-defense, hunting and recreational shooting.”

Madera County followed suit in October. Supervisors declared the county a “Second Amendment Sanctuary” and said it would “continue opposing any law, regulation or executive order that unconstitutionally restricts the rights of county residents to keep and bear arms.”

In Tulare County, Sheriff Mike Boudreaux has been in open in his opposition to several potential laws that proposed Second Amendment limitations, including Assembly Bill 450 in 2016 and SB 2, a 2024 bill that sought to put new restrictions on the state’s concealed carry requirements.