No State Constitutional Right to Carry a Firearm in Public: Hawaii Supreme Court

Hawaii’s Supreme Court has ruled that the state does not provide a constitutional right to carry firearms in public, a deviation from the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision that affirmed such a right. In December, Christopher Wilson was charged with a felony for violating three gun laws in Hawaii. Two of these laws restrict the possession of firearms and ammunition to the owner’s residence or business. A third law, HRS Section 134-9, authorizes the chief of police in each county to issue licenses for carrying firearms. Mr. Wilson’s legal team moved to have the charges dismissed, arguing that prosecuting him for possessing a firearm for self-defense purposes outside his home violated his right to bear arms as guaranteed by the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Article 1, Section 17 of the Hawaii Constitution....