BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation has filed a 29-page form friend brief supporting a motion for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction in a challenge to Hawaii’s restrictive concealed carry law, in a case known as Wolford vs. Lopez.
The brief was filed in the US District Court for the District of Hawaii.
As explained in the court document, Hawaii “has followed New York, New Jersey, and Maryland in taking deliberate steps to undermine the Supreme Court’s landmark Bruen ruling and the fundamental general right to bear an effective self-defense mechanism it affirmed. Hawaii’s SB 1230 and similar laws specifically and unfairly target those who have taken their rights more seriously by attempting to exercise them, including by submitting to Defendants’ background checks and training requirements.”
Following the 2022 Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, Hawaii passed SB 1230, a sweeping law designed to severely limit where law-abiding, licensed citizens can legally carry firearms for personal protection. So restrictive in nature, the new legislation was colloquially referred to as the “Bruen Response Bill”.
“As we stated in our report,” said SAF Founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb, “Hawaii’s new law is written to make citizens fearful of exercising their constitutional right to bear arms, to the point of that they are even afraid to enter a coffee shop without first being invited. We cannot have law abiding citizens who are afraid to exercise a right for fear of being prosecuted and turned into criminals. That’s not how the constitution works, and specifically, that’s why the Second Amendment includes the phrase ‘shall not be infringed’. SB 1230 is a serious violation.”
“There are no historical analogues to support the extreme nature of Hawaii’s gun law,” added SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “On the contrary, as we explained to the court, history shows that lawmakers respected Second Amendment rights as part of everyday life, to the point of encouraging people to bring their guns to public gatherings and even to church. Hawaii, on the other hand, is trying to make it a crime to have a gun outside your home or private vehicle.”
The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt legal action, research, publishing, and education group focusing on the constitutional right and inheritance to own and own guns. fire privately. Founded in 1974, the Foundation has grown to more than 720,000 members and supporters and runs many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.