SAF argues that Hawaii gun laws violate the Second Amendment

News Release from Sportsmen's Alliance Foundation, Nov 20, 2025

Today, Nov. 20, the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation filed an amicus curiae brief in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals challenging two Hawaii laws that pose undue burdens on gun owners.

Hawaii makes it very difficult for a person to acquire a handgun legally. The law first requires a permit to purchase. To do that, an individual must undergo a background check and provide specific information about the firearm they are purchasing—manufacturer, model, action, caliber, serial number, etc. The law forbids any local law enforcement agency from issuing the permit until 14 days after the application was received but requires it to be issued within 40 days. The permit expires 30 days after it is issued, and if the transaction is not completed in that timeframe, the process starts all over again.

But that is not the end of it. The seller must sign the permit and return it, along with the gun’s identifying information, to their local law enforcement agency within 48 hours. The pain is still not over as the buyer must then bring the firearm to the police station for a physical inspection within five days of completing the sale.

“There is no meaningful or persuasive constitutional distinction between … handguns and … rifles.” — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh

The expiration date on the permit to purchase and the five-day in-person inspection requirement were challenged in federal court under the Second Amendment. The trial court struck them down in 2021. Hawaii appealed, and a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit affirmed that the laws were invalid in March of this year. Hawaii then sought en banc review, a process in which 11 judges on the Ninth Circuit will review the three-judge panel’s decision. The Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation’s brief urges the en banc court to hold Hawaii’s regulations unlawful … again.

“The Supreme Court was very clear about the ratification of the Second Amendment,” said Michael Jean, Litigation Counsel for Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation. “Preserving the right to keep and bear arms, and every other right protected by the Constitution, takes certain policy choices off the table. Here, Hawaii has conceded in this case that its onerous laws were imposed to ‘control’ how people exercise their right to acquire a firearm. That does not cut it—just as the First Amendment does not allow the government to control how we speak or exercise our religion for the sake of controlling it.”

Firearms are part and parcel of our ability to hunt. And as Justice Kavanaugh said, “There is no meaningful or persuasive constitutional distinction between … handguns and … rifles.” So, if Hawaii’s draconian permitting and registration laws are allowed to stand, then every state can impose the same restrictions across the board, and it is that much more burdensome for sportsmen to do what they enjoy.

We expect the court to hold a hearing in late March.

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Animal extremists already bully sportsmen. We do not need to be bullied by gun-control extremists working to take away our firearms. The Sportsmen’s Alliance is fighting against those who are working to crater our heritage and traditions. Join us or donate to the Sportsmen’s Legal Defense Fund to help stand up against the relentless assault on our values and lifestyle by animal extremists and gun-control advocates. Present and future generations are depending on your willingness to fight to protect the future of hunting, fishing, and trapping.

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