The California open carry ban was overturned by the Ninth Circuit, and we've talked a good bit about it. We're going to keep talking about it, too, because it's big news.
However, the impact of that ruling doesn't stop at California's borders.
Sure, the Ninth Circuit covers more than just the Golden State, but California is also one of the few states that prohibit open carry in any way. In theory, it probably should be pretty limited.
But, if nothing else, it triggered at least one urban sheriff to make a promise that everyone should hold him accountable for.
The Founders said it is a God given right. Maybe you should read up on it.
— Sheriff Keith Swank (@Swank4America) January 3, 2026
Swank is the sheriff of Pierce County, Washington. That's the county that contains Tacoma, with a population of over 200,000, which isn't exactly Small Town, USA.
Of course, Tacoma is a relatively big city in a very large county. Pierce County has nearly a million residents, so there really is a fairly rural element at work there, which means Swank is likely safe enough standing with the Second Amendment, politically speaking.
Still, it's nice to see elected officials of various counties in anti-gun states make such a stand.
However, words are cheap. Deeds, not words. Other phrases that basically say the same thing about talking versus action.
It's unclear as to whether this is Swank vowing to make Pierce County a Second Amendment sanctuary county or if he's just broadly expressing his support for the right to keep and bear arms. Either is good, but one is far more important to the residents of his county, especially as it's in the anti-gun state of Washington.
The truth is that there is no open-carry ban in Washington. A permit isn't even required for it, which means they were better than my home state of Georgia was before we passed constitutional carry.
As such, the Ninth Circuit ruling doesn't change the status quo there in any appreciable way, so far as I can tell.
But Swank is an elected official, and he's making a stand based on the ruling, and that now leads me to ask where everyone else is. There are a lot of sheriffs out there and other elected officials in the Ninth Circuit, including in California itself, that likely feel the same way Swank does, so where are they? Have they spoken out?
I honestly don't know, and I doubt anyone has the time to reach out to all of them to find out if they have.
But if you're in the Ninth Circuit, you should reach out to your guys and gals. Ask them if they agree with the court and whether they've expressed this openly via social media, even if just in their personal accounts.
We've got to start holding lawmakers and sheriffs accountable, even if it's just demanding words when deeds aren't possible. Anti-gunners do this all the time, and it makes it look like there's much more support for gun control than there really is. It's why we keep fighting to protect preemption, because there's no downside for anti-gun officials to decide to ignore our Second Amendment rights and state law, thus making it look like a problem when it really isn't.
I'm sick of playing defense. Let's play a little PR offense, even if it only happens at the local level.
Swank did what we need others to do. Let's get them to step up and make their voices heard. We need to be loud about it, because we know our opponents aren't shy about being loud themselves.
You know, fight fire with fire, just to keep the cliches a-coming.
