The Second Amendment Foundation has filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court supporting Hawaii resident Christopher L. Wilson’s petition for a writ of certiorari in his challenge of the Hawaii state Supreme Court’s decree that individual citizens in the Aloha State do not have the right to carry firearms for self-defense outside of their homes.
Christopher Wilson was charged with offenses related to carrying a firearm and ammunition in public without the appropriate license in Hawaii. In response, Wilson challenged the constitutionality of the relevant Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) § 134-25 (2011) (pistol or revolver) and § 134-27 (2011) (ammunition), arguing that these laws violated his rights under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and its equivalent in the Hawaii constitution, article I, section 17. The Circuit Court of the Second Circuit dismissed the charges, agreeing with Wilson’s argument. The State appealed the dismissal.
The Supreme Court of the State of Hawaii concluded that Wilson was only entitled to challenge the constitutionality of the laws he was charged with violating. As such, Wilson could challenge HRS § 134-25 and § 134-27, but not HRS § 134-9, which pertains to licenses to carry firearms and which Wilson had not attempted to comply with.
The court found that the text, purpose, and historical tradition of the Hawaii Constitution do not support an individual right to carry firearms in public. The court reasoned that the language of article I, section 17, which mirrors the Second Amendment, ties the right to bear arms to the context of a well-regulated militia. It does not extend this right to non-militia purposes. The court also considered Hawaii’s history of strict weapons regulation and the intent of Hawaii’s framers.
Based on these considerations, the court held that HRS § 134-25 and § 134-27 do not violate Wilson’s right to keep and bear arms under article I, section 17 of the Hawaii Constitution and the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The court vacated the lower court’s dismissal order and remanded the case back to the Circuit Court of the Second Circuit.
Second Amendment Foundation is represented in its effort by attorneys Edward A. Paltzik, Serge Krimnus, and Meredith Lloyd at Bochner PLLC in New York, N.Y.
“When the Hawaii Supreme Court brazenly declared in February that the Second Amendment essentially does not exist within the state,” noted SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M.
Gottlieb, “we were stunned. This declaration is so astonishing in its nature that the U.S. Supreme Court simply cannot allow one-tenth of the Bill of Rights to be arbitrarily erased. Hawaii is still part of the United States. It is not a police state.”
“The Hawaii court has reduced an established right protected by the federal Constitution,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut.
“This is nothing short of open rebellion against the Supremacy Clause. Lawless judicial activism of such an extreme nature, if left undisturbed, would set a dangerous precedent that State supreme courts are free to tunnel below the constitutional floor of the Second Amendment. Millions of peaceable, law-abiding adults would be deprived of their fundamental right to carry firearms in public for self-defense based on geographical luck of the draw. As a consequence of such chaos, the Second Amendment would be rendered dead letter.”
In its petition, SAF makes clear the Second Amendment is not a “second-class right” subject to the political and philosophical whims of state Supreme Courts. The “Aloha Spirit” does not trump the U.S. Constitution. This is a non-negotiable matter of federalism.
Second Amendment Foundation
The Second Amendment Foundation (saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 720,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.
state is putting itself above the constitution, we either remove a star from the flag or jail the insurrectionists
Jail is too good for them. Dirt naps all around…
Keep the star, jail the tyrannical insurrectionists.
Tyranny allowed is tyranny deserved.
It is rather “ironic” that the “Spirit of Aloha” includes overthrow of its last Monarch by wealthy fascists utilizing 300 US Marines. One would think the natives of Hawai’i would recognize that it was the absence of a credible fighting force to defend against the coup d’etat, which is what their Supreme Court justices are ensuring with their affront to the God-given rights protected by absolute restrictions of the Second Amendment. Why are the people of Hawai’i not loudly protesting and demanding restoration of their “natural rights”, the foundation of their freedom and liberty ? Perhaps we should consider whether… Read more »
Do not spend any Tourist Dollars outside the US. Go to Red States only.
If you want White Sandy Beautiful Beaches go to the Gulf Coast of Florida.
Yes, sir. I did almost 15 years ago. F*ck Illinois!
Hawaii is to be an island of the rich democrats that are safe from the destruction that Joe and Antifags will bring if he looses and that is why they don’t want guns. It is easier to control unarmed people. Hitler/Mau/Stalin and others proved that.
The BOUGHT SORROWS LUNITIC Sycophants are running MANY courts across America! Even One such “judge” stated; “The Second Amendment does not exist here!”- in my court room! SOOOOoooo, it IS NO SURPRISE the BOUGHT ‘N’ PAID FOR “politicians” in Hawaii are CHANTING the same COMMUNISTIC NON-SENSE!
Hey, Tulsi Gabbard. With your newfound enlightenment on the second amendment why don’t you go back to “the Islands” and work to fix the problems there? Could it be that having not been given a seat at the Brandon table, your road to Damacus moment is B.S., you’re talking out your @$$, and you’re the same old demoKKKrat, commie, libtard you have always been?
Boycott the State! Tourism keeps them afloat… Go Woke – Go Broke!
If the state of Hawaii does not want to follow the CONSTITUTION then they can just succeed from the rest of the country and return to the island nation they once were, subject to the whims of other pacific basin nations. They either follow the CONSTITUTION or they be ome their own nation once again.
Is Wilson arguing pro se? That can, and usually does, lead to bad precedents being set. Some things are best left to professionals.
As far as ‘the Second Amendment’ does not exist in Hawaii, monkey see, monkey do. A New York judge already made that decision decision for her State.
We can invade and subdue–Hawaii would be a great place for R&R. But stay away from the poi–that sh!t is nasty.
I second the nasty part. As far as a place for R&R, Yellowstone and the Grand Teton’s is a great place to see.