Video: Charles Nichols Challenges California's Open Carry Ban

On Thursday, February 13, 2014, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals ruled that
California’s longstanding restrictions on carrying concealed
handguns in public conflict with the Second Amendment, finding
that California’s “may issue” standard, which requires that
applicants demonstrate “good cause” for needing a concealed carry
permit, undermines the Constitutional right to bear arms. Legal
analysts expect the government to appeal the decision, which could
send the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. 

This ruling was made possible, in part, by California’s 2011 ban
on the open carry of unloaded firearms. Without the option to carry
either openly or concealed, the court had few options but to find
California’s gun laws overly restrictive. 

In light of this major gun rights ruling, take a look at Reason
TV’s 2012 interview with Charles Nichols, president of California Right to
Carry, about his legal challenges to California’s gun laws.
Originally released on March 19, 2012.  The original text is
below.

“It’s unconstitutional to ban an entire class of weapons, one
that the public find most useful for self-defense,” says Charles
Nichols, president of California Right To Carry and the man behind
the first lawsuit to challenge California’s open carry gun ban.

Nichols sat down with Reason.tv’s Tim Cavanaugh to discuss his
lawsuit, which is actually targeting the original ban from the
1970s that prohibited the carrying of loaded weapons. They
discussed his prospects for success, as well as California’s
extremely strict gun control laws and how they might hold up in a
post-DC v. Heller world.

About 6:14 minutes.

Interview by Tim Cavanaugh. Edited by Zach Weissmueller. Shot by
Paul Detrick, Anthony Fisher, and Weissmueller.