Supreme Court: Hawaii 'Spirit of Aloha' cannot prohibit carry on property open to public

The U.S. Supreme Court on June 25 ruled against a Hawaii law that would have prohibited anyone from carrying a firearm onto private property without first obtaining the property owner's permission, including gas stations and other businesses open to the public. The ruling also included references to amicus briefs filed by the late Kenneth Hanson, a Buckeye Firearms Association co-founder and legislative chair.

In its 6-3 opinion, the court ruled the state's "Spirit of Aloha" anti-gun sentiment cannot supersede the Second Amendment in the U.S. Constitution.

Per Justice Samuel Alito's opinion:

"Hawaii’s argument that its 'particular customs and laws' … support the new default rule fails because the Second Amendment has the same meaning in all parts of the United States. The Second Amendment cannot give way to 'the spirit of Aloha' in Hawaii, contra, State v. Wilson, … any more than it can yield to the spirit of the Big Apple (Bruen) or the Windy City (McDonald). Merely local attitudes can neither shrink nor inflate the meaning of fundamental Bill of Rights guarantees that apply to the States through the Fourteenth Amendment."

The case, Wolford v. Lopez, dates back to June 2023, when three plaintiffs from Maui County sued over new state legislation that criminally prohibits a person with a concealed carry permit from bringing a handgun onto 15 types of property. Prior state law allowed a person with a carry permit to bring firearms onto private property that is open to the public unless the property owner prohibited it. Under new law, carrying a firearm onto private property that is open to the public is generally prohibited unless the owner affirmatively gives permission or by posting clear and conspicuous signs — somewhat similar to Ohio law on places of worship. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in September 2024 upheld the state law.

In another case, State v. Wilson, the Hawaii Supreme Court actually ruled that the state constitution supersedes the U.S. Constitution in relation to firearms, even though its own constitution recognizes the right.

Alito was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. Dissenting justices were Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

The ruling also included a pair of footnotes at the bottom of pages 3 and 5 (7 and 9 of 76 pages) referencing an amicus brief by the late Kenneth Hanson, Buckeye Firearms Association co-founder and legislative chair, representing Buckeye Firearms Foundation.

The first footnote references the brief in D.C. v. Heller and the court's landmark opinion in 2008 that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to keep and bear arms and that the District of Columbia's handgun ban violated that right. The footnote reads, "²See, e.g., Brief for Buckeye Firearms Foundation et al. as Amici Curiae 8–11."

That brief co-authored by Hanson reads, in part:

"The jaded citizens of the District have essentially given up on the police and the administration, resigning themselves to living as victims—or as outlaws, for those who choose to defend themselves despite the D.C. Gun Ban. The unavoidable result of the D.C. Gun Ban is that it is the victims, not the criminals, who are disarmed and rendered helpless. Not only are the police failing to protect district residents but the District government is burdening proven private sector solutions."

The second footnote referenced Hanson's (et al.) brief in McDonald v. Chicago and builds on the Heller case. You can read that brief here.

In 2016, Hanson was recognized for his many years of service to protect and defend the Second Amendment. Read more about Hanson and his work with BFA.

Check out BFA's coverage of the D.C. v. Heller case, including audio and a transcript of the 2008 arguments to the Supreme Court.

Joe D. "Buck" Ruth, a pen name for Scott Hummel, is a longtime small-game hunter and gun owner who spent nearly three decades in the news industry. He is the website and social-media manager for Buckeye Firearms Association.