Ninth Circuit rules California gun dealers must keep surveillance systems

A Ninth Circuit panel ruled 2-1 that California's 2023 law requiring federally licensed firearm dealers to maintain 24-hour video and audio surveillance at their business premises, including home-based operations, does not violate the First, Fourth or Fifth Amendments. Judge Lucy Koh's majority opinion found the plaintiffs failed to allege any actual government access to recordings or a concrete chilling effect beyond subjective fear.

Judge Kenneth Lee dissented sharply, calling the law an unprecedented invasion of gun shops as hubs of political speech and warning it would chill First Amendment activity through the threat of a year-long retained recording the government could review. The plaintiffs, including the California Rifle & Pistol Association, said they will seek en banc review and potentially appeal to the Supreme Court, likening the mandate to license-plate reader networks.

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