Second Amendment Right to Bear Arms
Some Safety features of California’s Unsafe Handgun Act violate the Second Amendment.
By Robert Phillips, Deputy District Attorney (Ret).

Last year, the United States Supreme Court decided the landmark case decision of New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn., Inc. v. Bruen (June 23, 2022) 597 U.S. ___ [142 S.Ct. 2111; 213 L.Ed.2nd 387], striking down some very restrictive New York gun regulations (none of which are in issue here).  In its decision, the High Court set out a required two-step analysis for determining the constitutionality of a state’s gun laws.  As noted by the Court, lower courts—when asked to determine the constitutionality of a state gun statute—must first determine whether “the Second Amendment’s plain text covers an individual’s conduct.”  If so, then the burden of proof shifts to the government, requiring it to show that the challenged regulation “is consistent with the Nation's historical tradition of firearm ....