Contact: John Eidsmoe, Foundation for Moral Law, 334-262-1245

MONTGOMERY, Ala., June 10, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Foundation for Moral Law, an Alabama legal foundation dedicated to the defense of the Constitution as intended by its Framers, sharply criticized a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that upheld a California law which curtails the right to carry concealed firearms.

Thursday's 9-4 decision held that the Second Amendment protects the right to own firearms but not to carry concealed firearms in public, leaving unanswered the question whether the Second Amendment guarantees the right to carry firearms openly. The court also upheld another provision of the California law that authorizes counties to issue permits for concealed weapons upon a showing of "good cause."

Foundation President Kayla Moore declared, "Our Founding Fathers knew that the right to keep and bear arms is essential to the preservation of freedom. I vow that the Foundation will fight this ruling with an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court."

Foundation Senior Counsel John Eidsmoe noted that the Ninth Circuit decision is based on a selective and flawed reading of history. "The court noted that concealed carry was not guaranteed under English common law but ignored Madison's observation in Federalist No. 46 that unlike most European kingdoms, in America the prevalence of firearms was the primary defense of freedom against tyranny."

Eidsmoe added, "The decision runs contrary to the plain wording of the Second Amendment, which guarantees the right, not just to 'keep' arms, but also to 'bear' arms. Nothing in the Second Amendment limits the right to bear arms to open carry, nor does anything in the Amendment authorize the state to limit concealed carry to those who (in an official's subjective opinion) have shown 'good cause.' A citizen's reasons for carrying arms are none of the government's business. No wonder the Supreme Court reverses the Ninth Circuit more than any other Circuit."