Hawaii Supreme Court Scoffs at U.S. Supreme Court Ruling: ‘No State Constitutional Right to Carry a Firearm in Public’

On February 7, 2024, Hawaii’s Supreme Court issued a decision saying that the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bruen (2022) does not surpass Hawaii’s constitution, which recognizes “no state constitutional right to carry a firearm in public.”

The decision came in Hawaii v. Wilson, a case in which Wilson is seeking recognition of his right to carry a gun in public for self-defense without first acquiring a permit from the state.

Hawaii’s Supreme Court unanimously decided against Wilson, with Judge Todd Eddins, a Gov. David Ige (D) appointee, writing the majority opinion.

Eddins wrote, “We reject Wilson’s constitutional challenges. Conventional interpretive modalities and [Hawaii’s] historical tradition of firearm regulation rule out an individual right to keep and bear arms under the [Hawaii] Constitution.”

He then directly addressed the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bruen decision, which struck down New York’s proper cause requirement for concealed carry permit issuance.

Eddins wrote, “Bruen snubs federalism principles. Still, the United States Supreme Court does not strip states of all sovereignty to pass traditional police power laws designed to protect people.”

He later added, “States retain the authority to require that individuals have a license before carrying firearms in public.”

It remains to be seen what, if any, appellate action will be taken in light of another important aspect of the Bruen decision; namely, the recognition that the Second Amendment protects a right to carry a gun outside the home for self-defense.

On June 23, 2022, Breitbart News quoted Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s majority opinion, wherein he referenced previous cases affirming the right to keep and bear arms in the home for self-defense, then turned to Bruen and said, “In this case, petitioners and respondents agree that ordinary, law-abiding citizens have a similar right to carry handguns publicly for their self-defense.”

The case is Hawaii v. Wilson, No. SCAP-22-0000561 in the Hawaii Supreme Court.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a Turning Point USA Ambassador, and a pro-staffer for Pulsar Night Vision. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.