Facts of the Case
In 2023, Hawaii enacted Act 52, which barred concealed-carry permit holders from bringing firearms into fifteen categories of "sensitive places" and made it a crime to carry on private property open to the public unless the owner gave express authorization. Permit holders and gun-rights organizations sued Hawaii's attorney general, and a federal district court preliminarily enjoined many of the law's provisions. The Ninth Circuit, hearing the case together with a parallel challenge to California's similar Senate Bill 2, affirmed the injunctions in part but reversed in large part, leaving most of the restrictions in effect.
Questions
Does a law that makes it a crime for a licensed concealed carry permit holder to bring a handgun onto private property open to the public—such as a store or restaurant—unless the property owner gives "express authorization" violate the Second Amendment?
Conclusions
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On June 25, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court held 6-3 in Wolford v. Lopez that the Second and Fourteenth Amendments bar a state from prohibiting licensed handgun carriers from entering private property open to the public unless the property owner gives express authorization.
From the Courthouse Steps: Wolford v. Lopez
In Wolford v. Lopez, the Supreme Court held that Hawaii’s law prohibiting licensed concealed-carry permit...
From the Courthouse Steps: Wolford v. Lopez
In Wolford v. Lopez, the Supreme Court held that Hawaii’s law prohibiting licensed concealed-carry permit...
