Wolford v. Lopez
609 U. S. 185 (2026) · 6/25/26
Hawaii’s law prohibiting licensed concealed-carry permit holders from carrying handguns on private property open to the public without the property owner’s express authorization violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendments.
Edition: preliminary print (page proof)
Voices: Syllabus — prepared by the Reporter of Decisions · Justice Alito delivered the opinion of the Court. · Justice Barrett, with whom Justice Thomas and Justice Gorsuch join as to Part II–B, concurring. · Justice Kagan, dissenting. · Justice Jackson, with whom Justice Sotomayor joins, dissenting.
For years, the State of Hawaii made it almost impossible to obtain a license to carry a frearm. Four years ago, however, this Court held in New York State Rife & Pistol Assn., Inc. v. Bruen, 597 U. S. 1, that the Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect the right to carry handguns outside the home for self-defense. Hawaii responded by replacing its old law on carry permits with new laws that achieved a similar result. At issue in this case is a Hawaii law that prohibits frearms on private property open to the public without the express and affrmative consent of the property owner. Hawaii's…
Held: Hawaii's law prohibiting licensed concealed-carry permit holders from carrying handguns on private property open to the public without the property owner's express authorization violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendments. Pp. 201–212. (a) The restrictions imposed by Hawaii's challenged law fall within the plain text of the Second Amendment, so the law is presumptively unconstitutional. No party disputes that petitioners are among “the people” protected by the Second Amendment or that they seek to “bear” “Arms.” Therefore, “the plain text of the Second Amendment protects” what…Read it in the reading room ›