SAF, PARTNERS FILE AMICUS BRIEF CHALLENGING HAWAII’S FIREARMS PURCHASE LAWS

News release from SAF, Aug 25, 2025

BELLEVUE, Wash. — Aug. 25, 2025 — The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) has filed an amicus brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Yukutake v. Lopez, a case challenging Hawaii’s restrictive firearm purchase laws.

While the Plaintiffs prevailed before a Ninth Circuit three-judge panel, the case is now being reheard en banc. SAF is joined by the California Rifle & Pistol Association and the Second Amendment Law Center.

“Our brief contends that the Ninth Circuit’s practice of routinely granting en banc rehearing to overturn Second Amendment victories undermines public confidence in the judicial system,” said SAF Director of Legal Research and Education Kostas Moros. “We also argue that the court should reverse its erroneous interest-balancing standard set in B&L Productions, Inc. v. Newsom, which improperly revives a test rejected by the Supreme Court in Bruen. Hawaii’s laws clearly implicate the plain text of the Second Amendment, and without a historical basis, they cannot stand.”

The amicus brief argues that Hawaii statutes, which impose a 30-day time limit to purchase a firearm after receiving a permit and require police inspection of legally purchased firearms within five days, violate the Second Amendment. These laws lack any historical tradition of support and place undue burdens on law-abiding citizens exercising their constitutional rights. The brief is also critical of the Ninth Circuit’s now routine practice of rehearing almost all Second Amendment victories en banc only to reverse the decisions.

“This amicus brief is part of SAF’s ongoing mission to defend, secure and restore the Second Amendment rights of Hawaii residents,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “These arbitrary restrictions in Hawaii are unique and burdensome with no parallel in other states. We urge the Ninth Circuit to either reinstate the three-judge panel’s ruling striking down these laws or rule in favor of the plaintiffs, ensuring that the Second Amendment is treated with the respect it deserves.”

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