The National Foundation for Gun Rights has filed an amicus brief in Hawai’i supporting the lawsuit against Hawai’i Revised Statutes Section 134, which effectively bans the carrying of firearms in the entirety of the state. Click Here to view.
H.R.S. 134 mandates that no person carrying a firearm shall enter private property unless given the express permission of the owner. This designation of all private property in the state as a “sensitive place” is a mockery of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Bruen and denies the right to self-defense in nearly all areas open to the public.
Our brief highlights several ways in which the statute violates both Second and First Amendment rights. We also show how this statue fails to treat the Second Amendment the same as the First, Fourth, and Sixth Amendments as Clarence Thomas specifically explained it must be in the Bruen decision.
Law-abiding citizens of Hawai’i have the right to carry firearms in public for self-defense, conduct that is covered by the plain text of the Second Amendment. There is also no historical tradition that would allow for this regulation, as district courts have struck down similar statutes in New York and New Jersey.
The statute also violates the basic First Amendment principle that freedom of speech prohibits the government from telling people what to say. With “sensitive places” being the standard for all private property, property owners who are fine with public carry are now compelled by the government to take a public position on the issue when they may prefer not to – which is the very nature of compelled speech.
Our Amicus Brief asks the district court to block the unconstitutional de facto ban on public carry in the state of Hawai’i. You can read the brief here.
