US EditionSupreme Court appears skeptical of Hawaii handgun limits
The Supreme Court questioned Hawaii's 2023 law restricting concealed guns on private property, signaling it may violate the Second Amendment under the Bruen history-and-tradition test.
- A majority of justices during oral argument on Tuesday indicated Hawaii's private-property carry limit likely infringes the Second Amendment in Wolford v. Lopez.
- After the law took effect, three Maui residents and the Hawaii Firearms Coalition sued, a U.S. district court blocked the private-property rule before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit reversed in September 2024.
- Chief Justice John Roberts pressed Neal Katyal on why the Second Amendment differs from the First, while Justice Samuel Alito told Katyal, `You are just regulating the Second Amendment to second-class status.`
- A decision against Hawaii could broaden public-carry rights for licensed handgun owners and jeopardize similar laws in California, Maryland, New York, and New Jersey, where violation carries one year in prison.
- Under the Bruen framework the court requires a historical tradition to justify restrictions, applying the 2022 New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen ruling and hearing a March case on drug users before issuing an opinion by late June.
76 Articles
76 Articles
US Supreme Court to Hear Second Amendment Case Tuesday
By Andrew Rice via The Daily Signal | January 19, 2026 The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Tuesday in a case over whether states can prevent concealed carry holders on private property that is open to the public. Wolford v. Lopez challenges a Hawaii law that prevents concealed carry permit holders from bringing handguns to beaches, bars, restaurants that serve alcohol and gas stations without the owners permission.The Hawaii law s…
The Supreme Court’s ‘History and Tradition’ Test Has Now Run Into America’s History and Tradition of Anti-Black Racism
This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was originally published at Balls and Strikes. The Supreme Court heard oral argument on Tuesday in Wolford v. Lopez, a case about whether states can ban people from carrying concealed firearms on private property without getting the owner’s consent. Under the Hawaii law at issue, any armed person who wants to enter a shopping center, restaurant, or other privately own…
The Supreme Court Just Got Caught in Its Gun Rights Contradictions
The Supreme Court is running into a problem: There appears to be a gap between what the court writes in its opinions, and what the justices in the majority actually mean.Over the last year, the conservative justices have chastised lower court judges for not following their unsigned orders in unrelated cases. Those orders often don’t have a majority opinion upon which other judges can rely, and they typically aren’t seen as a final view on the me…
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