Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/680616
BySudhinThanawala TheAssociatedPress SAN FRANCISCO A fed- eral appeals court said Monday in a Califor- nia lawsuit that the Sec- ond Amendment right to bear arms extends to gun stores and requires gov- ernments to justify re- strictions on them. The ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Ap- peals came in a lawsuit against Alameda County by three men who wanted to open a gun store. They said a county ordinance that prohibits gun stores within 500 feet of a resi- dential area violated the Second Amendment. The 9th Circuit did not rule on the constitutional- ity of the 500-foot restric- tion, but it said the ordi- nance did involve the Sec- ond Amendment because the right to purchase and sell arms is "part and par- cel of the historically rec- ognized right to keep and to bear arms." The county, therefore, has to present evidence to justify the restriction and can't simply assert that gun stores increase crime, 9th Circuit Judge Diar- muid O'Scannlain said in the 2-1 decision. "Alameda County's or- dinance may very well be permissible. Thus far, how- ever, the county has failed to justify the burden it has placed on the right of law- abiding citizens to pur- chase guns," O'Scannlain said. The ruling is unique in its determination that there is a right to open new gun shops regardless of whether such stores al- ready exist, said Eugene Volokh, a professor who has taught classes on gun regulation at the Univer- sity of California, Los An- geles School of Law. He said the ruling also establishes that govern- ments must show proof if they argue that gun shops are magnets for crimi- nals. "This is helpful prece- dent for future challeng- ers," he said. The 9th Circuit panel re- versed a district court rul- ing dismissing the lawsuit and sent the case back to the lower court for further proceedings. The county was review- ing the opinion and de- termining its next step, County Counsel Donna Ziegler said. "One thing that is cer- tain is we'll continue to defend the ordinance whether we do that at the trial court or at the appel- late level," she said. In a dissenting opinion, 9th Circuit Judge Barry Silverman said there are numerous other gun shops in Alameda County, so the 500-foot ordinance does not prevent people from buying guns. FIREARMS Court reinstates gun store lawsuit over county's restrictions By Jonathan J. Cooper The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Children and teens brought illegally to the United States gained access to publicly funded health care Monday as California began allowing young people to sign up for the state's health care pro- gram for the poor without regard to their immigration status. State officials expect as many as 185,000 chil- dren under age 19 to join Medi-Cal in the first year — about three-quarters of the estimated 250,000 eli- gible youth. About 121,000 will be automatically trans- ferred from a limited ver- sion of the program that provides only emergency care, giving them the full range of medical, dental, vi- sion and mental health cov- erage available for little or no cost with full-scope cov- erage. In a rally outside the state Capitol, health care and immigrant rights ad- vocates celebrating the ex- pansion turned their at- tention to their next goals. They want Medi-Cal — the state's version of Medicaid — to cover income-eligi- ble adults who migrated il- legally and are pushing to allow those who make too much money to buy private coverage through the state's insurance exchange, Cov- ered California. "While Congress re- mains gridlocked with ste- reotypes and hateful rhet- oric, California remains as a hopeful beacon that tells people, 'Immigrants, you matter. Immigrants, you contribute to our economy. Immigrants, you are people that deserve to have health care,'" said Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, who wrote the legislation autho- rizing the expanded cover- age. Critics question why California lawmakers are spending time and money to help people who immi- grated illegally when there are American citizens in need. "This acts as a magnet to the world — bring your chil- dren, bring your families to California illegally and you will get free health care," said Robin Hvidston, exec- utive director of the activist group We the People Rising. In his revised budget pro- posal published last week, Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown included $188.2 mil- lion to cover the children and teens expected to get full-scope Medi-Cal cover- age. While the federal gov- ernment pays about half the cost of providing Medi-Cal benefits to citizens and le- gal immigrants, the state is covering the entire price tag for those who immigrated illegally. More than 13 million Cal- ifornians are enrolled in Medi-Cal, about a third of the state's population. The total state share of Medi- Cal funding is about $17.7 billion Joe Mangia, president and CEO of St. John's Well Child & Family Center in Los Angeles, said the cen- ter has about 2,500 kids who will be eligible for the expanded coverage, and ex- pects about 1,000 already have emergency Medi-Cal. He said they've been reaching out to families to tell them about the option and set up appointments starting on Monday for peo- ple to come in and enroll. Health promoters have also gone out into the commu- nity to tell people about the program, he said. Until now, St. John's has treated the kids but now they'll get much better and expanded care. "Before, if there was a specialty need, we'd re- fer to the county, maybe they'd get seen in six to nine months," he said. State officials have been working to make the tran- sition smooth and will be watching for any implemen- tation problems they need to address, Department of Health Care Services Direc- tor Jennifer Kent said in a statement last week. "We're delighted at this chance to expand compre- hensive health coverage to reach thousands more Cal- ifornia children," Kent said. CALIFORNIA Im mi gr an t ki ds g ai n state-funded health care RICHPEDRONCELLI—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Nathaly Gonzalez, foreground, joined others at a rally celebrating the expansion of Medi- Cal to children and teens illegally brought to the United States, held at the Capitol on Monday in Sacramento. The Associated Press PITTSBURG A Northern California city is consider- ing installing security cam- eras on one of two freeways where at least 20 shootings have occurred since Novem- ber, several of them deadly. The latest drive-by shoot- ing on Highway 4 occurred Sunday night in Antioch, about 45 miles east of San Francisco. A 22-year-old man was taken to the hos- pital for a shoulder wound after an assailant riddled his car with bullets, police say. The driver was awake and alert when emergency workers arrived, Sgt. Rick Martin said. Police were investigat- ing whether it was related to the other shootings along Highway 4 and Interstate 80. Investigators have said that some of the shootings may be connected to a gang feud. In nearby Pittsburg, the City Council will discuss Monday whether to spend $100,000 to put in security cameras along the stretch of freeway that crosses through the city, San Fran- cisco Bay Area station KNTV-TV reported. "It's scary," Pittsburg res- ident James Rand told the TV station. "You never know — a stray bullet can hit an innocent person. I think (video cameras) would def- initely help the neighbor- hood out and crack down on all this violence that's happening out here." Last week, a 25-year-old Vallejo woman was killed while traveling in a car on Highway 4 in Pittsburg, marking the sixth shooting on the city's stretch of free- way since June. Other cities along High- way 4 also were consid- ering installing cameras, Pittsburg Police Chief Da- vid Addington said. The California Highway Patrol and area police de- partments have formed a combined task force to in- vestigate. FREEWAYS Antioch mulls cameras amid shootings The Associated Press LOS ANGELES California Gov. Jerry Brown will seek state funds to help establish a system that issues alerts that an earthquake is oc- curring — with an eye on rolling out a limited sys- tem by 2018, a newspaper reported Monday. The governor will ask the Legislature to allocate $10 million toward the sys- tem being developed by the U.S. Geological Survey and university researchers, ac- cording to the Los Angeles Times. The decision to include the plan in his revised state budget is a reversal for Brown. He has sup- ported creation of the sys- tem but previously argued that the money should come from private and fed- eral sources. Seismic early warning systems are designed to detect the first shock waves from a large jolt, calculate the strength and alert peo- ple before the slower but damaging waves spread. Ultimately, scientists plan to develop apps for mo- bile phones and computers that would give the public the early alerts. The systems can't predict quakes and are most useful during big events where it would be meaningful to warn people far away to ex- pect strong shaking, scien- tists have said. The network for Califor- nia and the rest of the West Coast has been repeatedly delayed because of a lack of funding. "The infusion of state funding will allow us to surge forward," said Doug Given, earthquake early warning coordinator for the USGS. California trails Japan, Mexico and other earth- quake-prone areas in de- veloping a public alert sys- tem. A limited rollout in two years would mean that places such as classrooms, offices, shopping malls, amusement parks and po- lice and fire stations could have ready access to alerts that would give quick no- tice that an earthquake is occurring before strong shaking begins in a major quake. Rep. Adam Schiff, D- Burbank, who has champi- oned federal funding of the warning system, praised Brown's decision. He and others hoped it would en- courage Oregon and Wash- ington state to follow and also for private industry to contribute. The funding would ex- pand a limited program developed by the Califor- nia Institute of Technology; the University of California, Berkeley; and the Univer- sity of Washington in con- junction with the U.S. Geo- logical Survey. The Legislature is re- quired to pass a budget by June 15. SEISMIC ACTION Brown: Earthquake alert system in state could be operational by 2018 "Alameda County's ordinance may very well be permissible. Thus far, however, the county has failed to justify the burden it has placed on the right of law-abiding citizens to purchase guns." — Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2016 8 A