As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to take up the lawsuit challenging Hawaii’s ultra-restrictive concealed carry law, the Aloha State government is making some strange but interesting arguments. Among those is it can regulate carry on private property open to the public because it did so back when it was a “kingdom” and because most Hawaiians like the law.
The case Wolford v. Lopez challenges the law Hawaii passed following the 2022 Bruen ruling. The law forbids concealed carry of firearms on private property open to the public, such as restaurants, gas stations and grocery stores, without the property owner’s express consent.
After the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the restrictions don’t violate the Second Amendment, plaintiffs appealed to the Supreme Court. Oral arguments in the case are set to begin January 20.
In the state’s recent response brief, it stated: “We have traditions here that predate joining the Union, and they should reign supreme over the Constitution.”
If that sounds like a load of malarkey, and it is, you haven’t heard anything yet. The state later doubled down on its “kingdom” argument.
“Before Bruen, Hawaii had strict rules limiting public carry that reflected its traditions from before Hawaii became a state,” the brief continued. “Pre-statehood, Hawaii was a kingdom, and King Kamehameha III promulgated a law prohibiting ‘any person or persons’ from possessing deadly weapons, including any ‘knife, sword-cane or any other dangerous weapon.’”
The Hawaiian government seems to forget that the original 13 colonies were also part of a “kingdom” before they became states. Consequently, Hawaii, like other states, is bound by the Constitution, including the Second Amendment.
Leaving the “kingdom” argument, Hawaii’s brief also argues that the law is so popular that the Supreme Court should uphold it. After all, you know, popularity.
“Indeed,” the brief continued, “a contemporary survey established that 78% of Hawaii residents and 64% of Hawaii gun owners agree that loaded, concealed firearms should not be allowed into businesses at all.”
If that’s true, it sounds like Hawaii gun owners need a mandatory class on the right to not only keep, but to bear arms. However, I doubt that statement is actually true.
Interestingly, a coalition of liberal state AGs recently filed a brief with the Supreme Court in support of the law. The brief stated: “Businesses have great difficulty confronting customers who are engaged in potentially disruptive or dangerous behavior, and introducing a firearm makes such interactions more treacherous still.”
Ultimately, it’s critical that the Supreme Court gets this one right and strikes down the Hawaii law. Currently, individuals who have gone through the trouble of getting a concealed carry permit (‘CCW’) are limited to carrying on some streets and sidewalks, in banks and in certain parking lots. Everything else is off limits—including 96.4% of the publicly accessible land in Maui County. A win for the other side would result in more states passing equally egregious laws.
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