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State with Toughest Gun Control Laws Headed to Supreme Court for Spanking?
It is no surprise Hawaii, with some of the nation’s most restrictive gun laws, now finds itself before the Supreme Court, seeking to defend its position against a challenge that could reshape many states’ approach to firearms. Hawaii has forced on its citizens one of the lowest rates of gun ownership via some of the most restrictive gun laws in the country. Let’s see if the latest challenge brings the Aloha state just a bit closer to the broader gun freedoms most Americans enjoy as a right.
The Supreme Court recently agreed to hear a major case on gun rights, Wolford v. Lopez, taking up the constitutionality of a Hawaii law (a similar California law is also referenced) that bans the possession of handguns in most commercial places. Existing Hawaii law already bars people from carrying guns on beaches, in parks, and in bars and restaurants that serve alcohol. The specific law under review aims at establishments like stores, hotels, and malls, where people can carry guns only with the permission of the property owner. Under current law, entering a gas station, supermarket, or even a parking lot with a legal handgun constitutes a crime in Hawaii. The default rule in most other states is gun owners can carry firearms onto private property unless they have been told otherwise.
The plaintiffs argue in their petition the law made it “impossible as a practical matter to carry a firearm for lawful self-defense in Hawaii.” “Because most property owners do not post signs either allowing or forbidding guns, Hawaii’s default rule functions as a near-complete ban on public carry,” U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer wrote in court documents. The Trump administration urged the justices to take the case, arguing the law violates the Court’s landmark 2022 ruling finding the Second Amendment traditionally and historically gives people the right to carry firearms most places. Four other states still have laws banning guns in areas often referred to as sensitive locations, though similar presumptive restrictions for guns on private property have been blocked elsewhere, including in New York, with its own almost-impossible-to-work-around restrictive gun laws.
The United States is a country uniquely defined by its relationship with firearms. The Second Amendment has shaped American culture, politics, and law for more than two centuries. Yet while the Constitution sets the framework, each state enacts its own set of restrictions. Hawaii stands out for having some of the most stringent gun laws in the nation, making it ripe for the current court challenge to set an example. Hawaiian gun laws reveal the tension between individual rights and presumed public safety, as well as the ways in which local context (Hawaii is one of the bluest of blue states, in which the local Democratic primary usually chooses the winner as the Republican candidate in the general election is seen as nothing more than a necessary evil) influences broader constitutional debates.
Here’s how it works. In order to legally buy a gun in Hawaii you must be at least 21 years old (most states set the bar at 18) and a U.S. citizen. You cannot have commited a felony, or any a crime punishable by more than 1 year in prison, any crime of violence, a criminal offense relating to firearms or the illegal sale or distribution of any drug.
You then start the process at one of the islands’ few gun shops by choosing your weapon — your upcoming permit applies only to this specific gun. You then go to the police for that “permit to purchase.” This application includes a signed affidavit from your healthcare provider, including any mental health providers, that you are not a danger to yourself or others. The cops demand from you a HIPPA waiver, and Hawaiian law protects health care providers from civil liability in connection with the information (potentially including prescriptions) they provide law enforcement. You are also required to take a gun safety course available through licensed gun dealers.
There is a local and national background check, one that requires your permission to include your fingerprints and ID information in the FBI’s Next Generation Identification (NGI) Noncriminal Justice Rap Back Service. With Rap Back, a notice will be sent to the Hawaiian PD if, for the rest of your life, you engage in any criminal activity. States not using Rap Back depend on you to self-report your own criminal activity, possibly years later. At present 11 states including Hawaii use the program.
There is a 14-day waiting period on all permits. After the 14-day waiting period the permit will be valid for only 26 calendar days. With the permit you can buy the gun, but still have to register it online or in some cases physically bring it to a police station for inspection and official registration. Keep in mind the law requires firearms be stored locked, unloaded, and separate from ammunition.
But don’t go too far with your new gun. As challenged in the upcoming Supreme Court case, Hawaii is also known for its restrictive policies regarding carrying firearms in public. For decades, the state functionally banned concealed or open carry by requiring applicants to show “exceptional” need, such as proof of specific threats to their safety, before a carry permit would be issued. Very few permits are granted and Hawaii consistently is among the lowest rates of carry permits in the nation. Unique to Hawaii, the county police chief has the final authority and must personally sign off on all gun carry permits. The chief is named in the law as the issuing authority, and previous cases confirm the chief’s personal signature is required. Carry permits are issued only for handguns, and are prohibited for rifles and shotguns.
This comprehensive registration system allows law enforcement to maintain a record of nearly every firearm in the state, creating a government database that could be misused for confiscation or unwarranted surveillance.
Because this policy raises serious constitutional concerns it has faced significant legal challenges, especially in light of recent Supreme Court decisions. In New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022) the Supreme Court established the Second Amendment protects the right to carry firearms in public for self-defense. Hawaii’s law, which presumes firearms are banned on private property unless expressly allowed, will now be tested against this precedent. In Bruen, the Court struck down New York’s “proper cause” requirement for carry permits, declaring it unconstitutional. Because Hawaii’s law was nearly identical, the ruling forced the state to revise its permitting process. As a result, Hawaii now issues more concealed carry permits. Yet across the entire state only 2,200 people hold a concealed carry license. By comparison, Florida has the most concealed carry permits, with 2.56 million. Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Texas also have over one million permit holders.
Change in restrictive states seems likely. In addition to the New York Bruen case, which softened Hawaii’s carry laws, and the current Supreme Court challenge on private property carry, the Hawaii law prohibiting gun ownership between the ages of 18 and 20 is the subject of a 2024 lawsuit now moving forward. Plaintiffs filed in U.S. Circuit Court a motion for summary judgment in the case, urging the court to find that Hawaii’s age limit on gun ownership violates the Second Amendment. Hawaii is the only state to have a complete ban on gun ownership for those 18-20.
The Supreme Court’s evolving interpretation of the Second Amendment means states’ restrictions face new legal scrutiny. The Court’s decision in the upcoming Wolford may clarify whether states can flip the presumption of carry rights on private property, setting a national precedent with implications far beyond Hawaii. The ruling will not only determine Hawaii’s future but may serve as a test case to redefine the limits of state authority over firearms nationwide, signaling how far local governments can go in restricting a constitutional right.
Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. The views expressed here are solely those of the author(s) in their private capacity.
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Rich Bauer said...
1“Hawaii has forced on its citizens one of the lowest rates of gun ownership via some of the most restrictive gun laws in the country.”
Yeah, forced them also to have the lowest gun related death rates too.
10/21/25 7:56 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
2Turning our Guns against US
Imagine you are a political party that has run forever on the platform that the big bad federal government is threatening states’ rights, and now must convince its idiot voters that the problem really is states’ rights. Donnie Dementia sends in armed National Guard against the wishes of the state government. Imagine the confusion that these small government voters will face come 2026. While the Donnie Dementia frat boys are jerking off each other in group chats, they will fail their midterms. When their rich donors realize their ROI is trash, who will pay the frat boys tuition? Of course MAGA will trot out the usual NRA fearful garbage that guns are the answer, but the townies are confused. The Donnie Dementia team has to shoot their mouths off and scare their idiot voters to prevent a disaster come 2026. But where is the enemy? Are guns the answer. A CROOK gun almost took off the head of their party.
10/21/25 9:39 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
3POTUS (read: piece of total unmitigated shit) shoots his dumbass mouth off again and declares Colombian Prez an illegal drug lord
Not content to shoot off his mouth against the evil Dems/commie/fascist/antifa leaders, Donnie Dementia just declared the prez of Colombia an illegal drug leader (as oppressed to a legal one??) and announced the US will slash funding to the South American nation. While DD has the memory of a goldfish (his favorite fish), he apparently has forgotten the US provides the illegal weapons to the drug cartels in Colombia as well as the rest of the Western Hemisphere). The deranged transactional prezidense should appreciate the transactional trade of drugs for guns. Since the Colombian prez is now in the same boat as Venezuela illegal drug lord, is the US offering the same $50 million bounty for him too? And what about Mexico, El Sal, Guatemala and every drug transit country? OMG, what are in those Epstein Files that has this P.O.T.U.S so wag the dog up at night?
10/21/25 1:08 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
4Don’t cry for me, Argentina.
The MAGA crowd showed once again it is only against Donnie’s Big Government when it affects them financially. Nebraska and other blood red states have a beef with P.O.T.U.S. buying Argentina beef to reduce the 20% rise in consumer prices. This is the thing with fascism, these supporters only cry when government costs them money.
10/21/25 1:48 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
5ICE-CREAM, New career for Peter?
ICE has discovered that recruits are not the cream of the crop. Many had criminal backgrounds, failed drug tests, or did not meet physical or academic standards. What’s more, some recruits had not submitted fingerprints for background checks, which is a violation of ICE hiring policy. In fact, one recruit had prior charges for strong-armed robbery and battery related to domestic violence. Additionally, nearly half of recruits failed the written exam, even with access to notes and textbooks. All of this as ICE has shortened its training program from 13 weeks to six weeks to accelerate the on-boarding process. ICE’s HR office is reportedly overwhelmed by more than 150,000 applicants, spurred by a $50,000 signing bonus.”
Walmart not hiring?
10/23/25 8:38 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
6Donnie Dementia said he could shoot someone on Fifth Ave, but…
…Killing an American in a boat in the Caribbean may get him or his officers life.
Just following orders didn’t work for the Nazis, so it is not surprising Admiral Hosley of Southern Command resigned as the number of kill shots of unidentified people in boats departing Latin America hit eight. One of these future victims could be an American citizen. The Men in Black Supremes gave DD immunity for “official acts.” Going out on a limb here, but DD shooting someone on Fifth Ave or ordering the death of an American in a boat thousand miles from the US is not gonna be an official act. DD better get moving on the bunker under the East Wing.
10/23/25 7:23 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
7Trump finally getting his spanking?
Trump DoD has refused to give military “get out of jail card” for participation in murder on the high seas, and the TULSI DIA has refused to provide congress with intelligence supporting these murders. While Donnie Dementia paid big money for getting spanked by Stormy, he could get spanked harder for ordering the murder of people on the high seas. Even the Nazis on the Trump Supreme Court cant give DD a get out of jail card when he is arrested for murder if he leaves his bunker under the East Wing.
10/24/25 4:06 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
8436 can be charged as accessory to murder
Donnie Dementia won’t be the only idiot facing justice for the murder of foreign nationals on the high seas. Every congressman and VD Dance can be charged as accessory to murder by their silence in the psychopath’s mass murder of the uncharged alleged drug smugglers.
10/24/25 9:14 PM | Comment Link
John Poole said...
9Trump is chuckling at the hypocrisy. America was fine with the ethos of: “We have to fight them “over there” or we’ll end up having to fight them here (in the homeland). We had to stop the Communist scourge in South East Asia or we’d be fighting the commies right here in our own back yard. “THE HORROR!” (Colonel Kurst). So going “over there” (International Waters) to stop an equally nefarious enemy (drugs) from reaching here is not a historical precedent.
10/25/25 11:22 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
10JP,
Drumpf is killing more Americans by killing their health insurance. Hannibal Lecter is an amateur compared to this clown.
10/25/25 8:59 PM | Comment Link
John Poole said...
11Bauer: We are starting to sound like the lost Democrats with their, “Trump is the devil!” bit. I’ve decoupled from American politics even locally. We need to evolve beyond the POTUS thingee into a parlimentary process. Trump could then become an honorary king as in the UK but ruling over the DUA
(DisUnited America).
10/26/25 4:23 PM | Comment Link
John Poole said...
12It is pathetic that Democrats and some Republicans are trashing Trump for his drug boat blastings. Most were fine with the mid 60s tp early 70s invasion and bombing of a sovereign nation resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of of innocent peasant/civilians under the MIC con of fighting communism “over there”. Drugs are today’s communist ideology.
10/26/25 8:14 PM | Comment Link
Eric Hodgdon said...
13If Hawaii had gun lockers in restricted areas their laws might work, but still they’ve got a very unusual set of them. In Nevada we don’t have legal gymnastics ( Twister ) required for firearms.
After the December 7 attack, Grandpa bought a .38 Army Special. He’d go out and check for lights at night, because of the concern for another attack.
P.S. – Mom is still alive at almost 98 and remembers that day, but not the past 30 years.
10/26/25 9:22 PM | Comment Link
RichvBauer said...
14JP,
Donnie Dementia has the emotional maturity of a 12 year old, having been emotionally traumatized by his sociopathic father and emotionally absent mother. What the world didn’t know was 77,000,000 voters identify with him. As you mention, this immigrant white population country has always been borderline sociopathic when it comes to killing non-whites, beginning with the Native Americans. It wont be a surprise to see the Trump Cult cheer the invasion of Venezuela, which is not far from the Jim Jones Cult country.
10/27/25 10:43 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
15“Hawaii is the only state to have a complete ban on gun ownership for those 18-20.” Oh, the horror…
If there is a new Civil War, Hawaii has a good a reason to seek independence:
The United States ranks 128th out of 163 countries on the 2025 Global Peace Index, lower than South Africa, Kenya, and Zimbabwe, in terms of societal safety.
In its newly released annual Global Peace Index (GPI) for 2025, the Institute for Economics and Peace ranked the US 128th out of 163 countries, reflecting a sharp decline in peace, driven by high homicide rates, political polarization, gun violence, and a large military presence.
Gun violence in the US has become so pervasive and routine that it no longer shocks the public, with shootings occurring almost daily and affecting every kind of space—from schools, universities, and hospitals to shopping malls, nightclubs, sports venues, and private homes—yet the crisis continues unabated, as if society has come to accept it as a grim norm.
According to the latest available statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), gun violence is epidemic in the US, with nearly 47,000 gun-related deaths in the country in 2023.
10/27/25 12:47 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
16Dont understand why AMCON pays Peter to write useless articles like this. Gun ownership concerns do not resonate with voters anymore. Immigration concerns are falling too. If MAGA wants to maintain control, Donnie Dementia better do something fast on the issue that got his fat ass elected: INFLATION. A poll, released Wednesday, showed less than 38% of voters approved of Trump’s handling of the economy, while 57% disapproved and 5% had no opinion. Quinnipiac noted that Trump’s approval rating on the economy is the lowest score he has received since the start of his first term in February 2017, which is when the pollster started asking the question.
Keep your guns handy, MAGA, because you are committing political suicide.
10/27/25 1:06 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
17MAGGOTS caught in a Donnie Dementia black hole?
Imagine Donnie Dementia is the equivalent of a human black hole and MAGGOTS as space debris caught in its curved spacetime. In black hole singularity even light can’t escape. This is the danger of Faux News. There is no hope for those closest to the blob, but MAGGOTS at the outer perimeter could still escape oblivion. In most galaxies there is a theorized black hole in the center and planets at a safe distance continue orbiting around it. As long as MAGGOTS keep their distance (don’t swallow the kool-aid) they have a chance. Get too close to DD, and they will be swallowed whole.
10/27/25 1:50 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
18DONNIE Darko Dementia
Imagine Donnie Dementia was meant to take his final bow in Butler, Pa, but turned at the last moment avoiding a bullet creating an alternate universe which could eventually destroy our universe like the events in the Donnie Darko film. Of course this is not the End Times the Rapture crowd desired. In the DD film all hell is unleashed in Donnie’s life to force him back to his bedroom where a jet engine was supposed to crush him and his house. This Darko world would explain the hell Donnie Dementia is unleashing on the world, including DD’s destruction of the White House. Donnie Darko burned down the house of a pedophile. Donnie Dementia is desperate to keep the House closed, lest the pedo files are released to the public. Fate has a way of making things end the way it should. DD blames Antifa and Soros for the world’s problems, but we all know the Butler did it.
10/27/25 11:23 PM | Comment Link