The United States Supreme Court has struck down a Hawaii law that prohibited licensed firearm carry permit holders from bringing weapons onto private properties open to the public unless they received express authorization from the property owner.
Second Amendment Rights
In a 6–3 decision in Wolford v. Lopez, the majority found that the restriction violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendments. Justice Samuel Alito delivered the opinion of the court, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.
The court rejected Hawaii’s historical arguments, which attempted to justify the law by pointing to colonial-era anti-poaching statutes and an 1865 Louisiana law. Alito noted that early colonial rules focused specifically on unauthorized hunting and livestock protection on land where game was found, rather than retail environments.
Concurring Opinion
Justice Barrett filed a concurring opinion, joined in part by Thomas and Gorsuch, reinforcing that state property regulations are not exempt from Bill of Rights protections. “Property laws, no less than other laws, are subject to constitutional limits,” Barrett wrote.
Original reporting: Tampa Free Press — read the source article.
