Ninth Circuit's 2026 Second Amendment Rulings: Key Legal Precedents for Gun Rights and Restrictions

By Robert Phillips, Deputy District Attorney (Ret).

Second Amendment Update: (1) Undocumented Individuals (“illegal aliens”) and the Second Amendment Right to Bear Arms. (2) A Citizen’s Second Amendment Right to Openly Carry Firearms: 

UNDOCUMENTED INDIVIDUALS 

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals immediately began the New Year with two new Second Amendment cases. Respectively, they involve whether specific categories of individuals have (1) the right to possess firearms at all, and (2) have the right to carry firearms openly on their person (i.e., Wild West style) in counties with over 200,000 in population. 

First, the Court in United States v. Vazquez-Ramirez (9th Cir. Jan. 2, 2026) __ F.4th __ [2026 U.S.App. LEXIS 18] was confronted with the issue of whether 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5)(A), which prohibits persons “illegally or unlawfully in the United States” (i.e., commonly referred to as “illegal aliens,” or, “undocumented individuals”) from possessing a firearm, violates the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Following the now well-established rule under New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022) 597 U.S. 1, the Court agreed with every other federal circuit that has ruled on this issue (citing 8 separate decisions), finding that Vanquez-Ramirez’s challenge to the statute must fail. 

The facts are simple enough: Oscar Vasquez-Ramirez was born in Mexico.  He crossed the border into the United States illegally when he was seven years old.  Having no legal immigration status in this country, he was admittedly an illegal alien.  In December, 2021, Vasquez-Ramirez was pulled over by the police in Othello, Washington, for failing to yield at a crosswalk. While arresting him for DUI, the officer noted that he was carrying a loaded firearm in his waistband.  He went to jail and his firearm was confiscated.   

Vazquez-Ramirez was charged in July 2022, in a single-count federal indictment with 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5)(A); Unlawful Alien in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition. He moved to dismiss ....

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