By DAVID KRAVETS
AP LEGAL AFFAIRS WRITER

SAN FRANCISCO -- A divided federal appeals court on Tuesday declined to reconsider its December ruling that the Second Amendment affords Americans no personal right to own firearms.

The December decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld California's law banning certain assault weapons and revived the national gun ownership debate. With Tuesday's action, the nation's largest federal appeals court cleared the way for an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has never squarely ruled on the issue.

"I'll have this filed by the end of the week, it's already drafted," said attorney Gary Gorski, the attorney who challenged California's ban on 75 high-powered, rapid-fire weapons.