AG Labrador Leads Coalition Urging Supreme Court to Strike Down Hawaii’s Unconstitutional Public Carry Ban

News Release from Office of Idaho Attorney General, May 5, 2025

BOISE — Attorney General Raúl Labrador of Idaho and Attorney General Austin Knudsen of Montana filed an amicus brief urging the United States Supreme Court to uphold the constitutional right to bear arms and strike down Hawaii’s sweeping restrictions on lawful public carry. The brief, filed in Wolford v. Lopez, asks the Court to reverse a Ninth Circuit ruling that upheld Hawaii’s near-total ban on carrying firearms in public.

In 2023, Hawaii enacted Act 52—a direct response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen—imposing unprecedented restrictions on where law-abiding citizens may carry firearms. The law prohibits the carrying of firearms, presumptively or outright, on the vast majority of publicly accessible land in Hawaii, including parks, beaches, and nearly all private property unless the owner gives prior express consent. The result is a comprehensive public carry ban that stands in direct conflict with the Second Amendment and the Supreme Court’s clear guidance in Bruen.

The Ninth Circuit’s decision to uphold Hawaii’s law creates a direct split with the Second Circuit’s ruling in Antonyuk v. James, which struck down similar restrictions enacted by New York. Idaho and Montana’s brief warns that this circuit conflict threatens to leave millions of Americans’ constitutional rights unprotected based solely on geography—an outcome the Supreme Court must resolve.

“The right to bear arms belongs to the people—not because government permits it, but because government is bound to protect it,” said Idaho Attorney General Labrador. “Hawaii’s law turns that principle on its head, treating a guaranteed liberty as a regulated privilege. No government—federal or state—has the authority to take what it never had the power to give. If the courts do not intervene, this approach will become a blueprint for restricting the rights of law-abiding gun owners nationwide. Idaho will not stand by. We will fight to uphold the Constitution and defend the freedoms it was established to protect.”

“Bruen guarantees that the Second Amendment is not a second-class right,” said Montana Attorney General Knudsen. “The Ninth Circuit’s flawed decision puts that guarantee at risk. I hope the Supreme Court will take up the case and reverse the decision to reassure Montanans and Americans that our right to keep and bear arms will not be eroded. I will not stand idly by as Americans’ rights are in jeopardy. My office will continue to fight to uphold the Second Amendment.”

The coalition’s brief explains that Hawaii’s restrictions lack any grounding in the historical tradition the Supreme Court requires under Bruen. At the time of the founding, citizens were free to carry arms in public spaces and onto private property open to the public—unless expressly forbidden by the owner. Hawaii’s law inverts that tradition, treating public carriage as a privilege to be denied rather than a right to be protected.

The coalition cautions that unless the Court intervenes, other states may pursue similar legislative ploys to undermine constitutional protections through regulation and presumption. The amici urge the Court to reaffirm that the Second Amendment cannot be regulated out of existence.

The other 25 members of the coalition are Attorneys General Steve Marshall (Alabama), Treg Taylor (Alaska), Tim Griffin (Arkansas), James Uthmeier (Florida), Christopher Carr (Georgia), Theodore Rokita (Indiana), Brenna Bird (Iowa), Kris Kobach (Kansas), Russell Coleman (Kentucky), Liz Murrill (Louisiana), Lynn Finch (Mississippi), Andrew Bailey (Missouri), Michael Hilgers (Nebraska), John Formella (New Hampshire), Drew Wrigley (North Dakota), Dave Yost (Ohio), Gentner Drummond (Oklahoma), Alan Wilson (South Carolina), Marty Jackley (South Dakota), Ken Paxton (Texas), Derek Brown (Utah), John McCuskey (West Virginia), Bridget Hill (Wyoming), Warren Peterson (President of the Arizona Senate), and Steven Montenegro (Speaker of the Arizona House).

Read the brief here.

Read more from the Idaho Dispatch here.

B: Multi-State Coalition Against Hsawaii's 'Sensitive' Places Concealed Carry Ban

WN: Justice Dept. Urges Supreme Court to Overturn Hawaii Gun Restrictions | The Well News