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Court says counties must justify zoning that restricts gun stores

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A federal appeals court decided Monday that a zoning requirement restricting the location of gun stores may violate a constitutional right to bear arms.

A panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a lawsuit against Alameda County, ruling 2-1 that the county must justify a ban that prevents new gun stores from locating within 500 feet of a residential neighborhood.

If the zoning law amounts to total ban on new gun stores, it is likely to be unconstitutional, the majority suggested.

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“The right to purchase and to sell firearms is part and parcel of the historically recognized right to keep and to bear arms,” wrote Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain, a Reagan appointee.

The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by businessmen who wanted to open a gun store in San Leandro, which borders the city of Oakland. The county initially approved a permit for the store, but a group of residents challenged it and the Alameda County Board of Supervisors revoked the permit.

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According to the county’s way of measuring, the store would have been less than 500 feet from a residential neighborhood, though across a freeway.

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Judge Barry G. Silverman dissented, arguing that a lower court properly dismissed the lawsuit. Silverman said there were already at least 10 gun stores in Alameda County.

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“When you clear away all the smoke, what we’re dealing with here is a mundane zoning dispute dressed up as a 2nd Amendment challenge,” the Clinton appointee wrote.

maura.dolan@latimes.com

Twitter: @mauradolan

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