While the People's Republic of California and other western U.S. states have a long history of disarming law abiding citizens, now a message is being sent to criminals they are not necessarily considered 'armed' just because they have a gun. Reuters reports that the Ninth Circus Court of Appeals, the most overturned Federal Appeals Court in the nation, has struck down the sentence of Deshon Rene Odom, who was convicted of armed robbery. While he had a gun when he robbed a Los Angeles area bank, "he did not mean to show his gun to a teller while demanding money."

The Court ruled that Odom should have been convicted and sentenced in "unarmed" robbery, because he did not brandish the gun, nor inform the teller that he was armed. The case has been returned to the lower court for resentencing.