Hawaii Supreme Court Controversially Rejects Second Amendment Right, Rules “In Hawaii, There is No State Constitutional Right to Carry a Firearm in Public”
The Supreme Court of Hawaii ruled against Christopher Wilson, a man charged with carrying a gun without a permit, asserting that under the state’s constitution, there is no right to bear arms in public.
This ruling overturns a lower court’s decision, which had aligned with Wilson’s Second Amendment defense, particularly in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark rulings in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) and New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022).
The lower court ruled that prosecuting Wilson would violate his Second Amendment rights.
Wilson’s arrest on December 7, 2017, in the West Maui Mountains for possessing a loaded handgun without a permit has become a focal point for a broader constitutional debate.
