California can’t prohibit guns in hospitals and medical facilities, court finds

The state of California can bar guns from many public places, but the state cannot restrict firearms at hospitals and other healthcare locations, a federal appeals court says.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, based in San Francisco, issued the ruling Friday. The case follows an injunction enacted in December 2023 that blocked a California law banning firearms in most public places.

The court upheld the injunction barring California’s state law from barring firearms in hospitals and other medical facilities. The court ruled that it’s unlikely that the state of California can establish a precedent of regulating firearms in hospitals and medical facilities.

“On the current record, and for the purpose of preliminary relief, we hold that Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on their challenge to California’s prohibition of firearms at hospitals and other medical facilities,” the court found.

The court’s opinion also noted, “District courts have divided on the question whether a national historical tradition of banning firearms at medical facilities exists.”

The court looked at challenges of a New York law that restricted guns at facilities providing behavioral health services and “chemical dependent care.” But the court ruled that New York’s gun ban in those facilities had a better chance of standing since it was based on historical laws.

California will be able to restrict weapons in many public places as a result of the 9th Circuit decision. In its ruling Friday, the court outlined a host of public places where California can prohibit firearms, including bars and restaurants that serve alcohol, stadiums, arenas, casinos, playgrounds, youth centers, parks, amusement parks, public libraries and zoos.

Hospital can enact policies

While California can enact a statewide prohibition of firearms in hospitals and healthcare facilities, individual operators are still free to develop and enact such policies, the 9th Circuit court said.

“We emphasize that nothing prevents an operator of a medical facility—whether privately owned or State-run—from banning firearms under ordinary principles of property law,” the ruling stated.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statement reflecting gratitude that the ruling preserves the state’s right to restrict firearms in many areas.

“We refuse to accept shootings at schools, parks, and concerts as a normal fact of life,” Newsom said in a statement. “While we fought for the court to go further, today’s ruling affirms our state’s authority to limit guns in many public places. California will continue to take action to protect our residents, and defend our nation-leading, life-saving gun laws from an extreme gun lobby and politicians in their pockets.”

The ruling also said Hawaii could bar firearms at bars and restaurants serving alcohol and on beaches.

The California Rifle & Pistol Association, one of the plaintiffs in the case seeking to keep the injunction in place, said in a statement that the “result was better than expected.” The organization said it’s reviewing its next steps, including pushing the legal battle to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Hospitals and screening systems

California lawmakers have recently passed a separate measure aimed at improving safety in hospitals.

The state’s lawmakers have approved a bill that would require hospitals to use weapons detection devices in their facilities. Under the bill, hospitals would need to install such equipment and have protocols for screening patients, families and visitors by March 1, 2027.

The California Senate and Assembly passed the measure in late August and it’s on the governor’s desk.

The California Hospital Association has taken a neutral position on the bill. The association initially raised some concerns about the legislation. In an April letter to California lawmakers, the hospital association said it worried about requiring all hospitals to put healthcare workers in the position of searching visitors and confiscating weapons.

The hospital association said Monday it worked to address technical concerns about the legislation.

"Ensuring hospitals are as safe as possible for patients, workers and visitors is a top priority for all hospitals," Jan Emerson-Shea, vice president of external affairs for the California Hospital Association, said in an email.

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in California, which represents many healthcare workers in the state, has endorsed the bill requiring hospitals to screen for weapons.

Leovardo Perez, a registered nurse and President of SEIU 121RN, said in a statement, “We urge Governor Newsom to sign this legislation to keep dangerous weapons out of our hospitals so health care workers and patients can focus on healing.”

More hospital executives and healthcare leaders have been speaking out against gun violence in the past few years.

Of course, hospitals have seen too many fatal shootings in their own facilities in recent years, including the killing of a hospital security guard in New Hampshire last November; the fatal shooting of a guard at a hospital in Oregon in July 2023; and the killing of a Tennessee hand surgeon in May 2023.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority has expanded the rights of gun owners. In 2022, the high court struck down a New York law requiring residents to explain why they need to carry a gun in a concealed way.