The Comfort of Home: Why Peruta v. County of San Diego’s Extension of Second Amendment Rights Goes Beyond the Scope Envisioned by the Supreme Court

Abstract

On February 13, 2014, in Peruta v. County of San Diego, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit extended the scope of the Second Amendment to cover the public carry of handguns. Extending the scope of the Second Amendment caused the Ninth Circuit to apply the incorrect standard of scrutiny in analyzing the challenged gun regulation. This Comment argues that the Ninth Circuit’s overzealous extension of the scope of the Second Amendment is inconsistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, its own precedent in United States v. Chovan, and the approach taken by its sister circuits.