CGF, FPC and FPCAF File Brief in Support of Challenge to Hawaii Public Handgun Carry Bans
“The locations Hawaii now hopes to treat as ‘sensitive’ cannot possibly be analogized to the core founding-era sensitive locations recognized in Bruen and District of Columbia v. Heller,” argues the brief. “The historical record shows that, at the founding, carry restrictions were strictly limited to locations where the government provided comprehensive security, which stands in stark contrast to Hawaii’s sweeping restrictions.”
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (November 13, 2023) – Today, California Gun Rights Foundation (CGF), Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), and FPC Action Foundation (FPCAF) announced the filing of a brief with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (and motion requesting permission to file) in support of the plaintiffs in Wolford v. Lopez, which challenges multiple public carry bans enacted by Hawaii in response to the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision. The brief can be viewed at FPCLaw.org.
“The locations Hawaii now hopes to treat as ‘sensitive’ cannot possibly be analogized to the core founding-era sensitive locations recognized in Bruen and District of Columbia v. Heller,” argues the brief. “The historical record shows that, at the founding, carry restrictions were strictly limited to locations where the government provided comprehensive security, which stands in stark contrast to Hawaii’s sweeping restrictions.”
"This brief represents yet another battle line in a multi-front war across the nation against tyrannical legislatures that are attempting to circumvent Supreme Court precedent and prevent peaceable individuals from being able to bear their arms in public for self-defense," said Cody J. Wisniewski, FPCAF's General Counsel and Vice President of Legal, and counsel for FPC. "We filed this brief to support the Wolford plaintiffs in their fight against Hawaii and to help advance the cause of all peaceable people across the nation."
“In an attempt to deny peaceable Hawaiians their right to bear arms, Hawaii has labeled a broad array of public locations ‘sensitive places’ where arms are prohibited,” said FPCAF’s Director of Constitutional Studies, Joseph Greenlee. “But as the brief explains, Hawaii’s restrictions are inconsistent with America’s tradition of firearm regulation and thus unconstitutional under the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision.”
CGF, FPC, and FPCAF’s brief is joined by the Center for Human Liberty and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA).