Plaintiffs filed their lawsuit last week in the case of Wolford v. Lopez, which challenges significant portions of Hawaii law that restricts access to concealed carry permits, designates many properties as “sensitive places” where carry permits are invalid, and makes carrying in most places prohibited unless a sign is posted that expressly allows carry on the premises. These provisions were added through SB 1230, which was signed by Governor Josh Green earlier this month.
As described in 2ALC’s most recent post (see below), SB 1230 attempted to greatly expand the definition of “sensitive places” in which a firearm could not be carried. This approach of paying lip service and feigning compliance with the Second Amendment while actually making it a crime to exercise that right practically anywhere has already been tried in places like California, New York, and New Jersey and has been challenged in the federal courts — which have mostly struck down these unconstitutional requirements.
The new law also added further subjective criteria to the CCW application process, providing even greater obstacles to obtaining a concealed carry permit. As the complaint points out, Hawaii was already incredibly stingy with CCW permits, having “less than a half-dozen carry concealed permits” in the decades before the Bruen decision.
Understanding the importance of preventing laws like this from becoming normalized and spreading to other states, the Second Amendment Law Center is already working to coordinate an amicus brief campaign to support the plaintiffs challenging the Hawaii law, including our friends at the Hawaii Firearms Coalition.. These briefs are due on July 14th, so time is of the essence.
2ALC’s efforts paid off in Illinois this week, where amicus briefs were filed urging the 7th Circuit Court of Appeal to strike down Illinois’ ban on semi-automatic firearms, standard capacity magazines, and a whole lot more. We are also working on a campaign in Delaware, with briefs due on Monday, July 3rd. Similar campaigns are also in the works in other states. Our efforts in Hawaii are now at the top of our list!
A well-coordinated amicus brief campaign can make the difference between winning and losing a case. The parties to a case are prohibited from writing or funding amicus briefs, and typically cannot cover subjects as comprehensively as they would like due to court-imposed page limitations.
Please consider donating to help this critical cause and help fend off attacks on the fundamental right of Hawaiians, and indeed all Americans, to self-defense!