Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador and Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen have 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 Court 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 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 Attorneys General say 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 they say the Supreme Court must resolve.
The coalition cautions that unless the Supreme Court intervenes, other states may pursue similar legislative ploys to undermine constitutional protections through regulation and presumption. They urge the High Court to reaffirm that the Second Amendment cannot be regulated out of existence.
