Attorney general joined multistate coalition supporting Second Amendment challenge
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a Hawaii law that prohibited licensed gun owners from carrying firearms on private property open to the public without a property owner’s express permission, prompting praise from Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who joined a multistate coalition supporting the legal challenge.
In a 6-3 decision in Wolford v. Lopez, the court ruled Hawaii’s law violated the Second Amendment by effectively preventing lawful concealed carry in places such as restaurants, shopping centers, banks and gas stations unless property owners explicitly allowed it. Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, said the law “hobbles” the constitutional right to carry firearms for self-defense. Details of the court’s opinion were first reported by The Hill.
Drummond said the ruling reinforces constitutional protections for gun owners.
“This decision rightly upholds our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms,” Drummond said in a statement. “Hawaii’s law, which required gun permit holders to seek permission to defend themselves, never should have been allowed to stand.”
Drummond joined attorneys general from 24 other states in filing a friend-of-the-court brief urging the Supreme Court to overturn Hawaii’s law.
Hawaii enacted the restriction after the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which expanded protections for carrying firearms in public. The law presumed firearms were prohibited on privately owned property open to the public unless owners affirmatively granted permission.
Gun rights advocates challenged the measure, arguing it effectively barred lawful concealed carry across much of the state. The Supreme Court agreed, concluding the restriction was inconsistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation, according to The Hill.
The ruling marks the court’s second major Second Amendment decision this month. Last week, the justices also limited the federal government’s ability to prosecute some marijuana users for possessing firearms, a decision that could affect thousands of Oklahoma medical marijuana license holders.
