Ninth Circuit Reverses Lower Court, Upholds Hawaii Gun Laws

An en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday reversed a lower court's decision, upholding Hawaii’s firearm licensing rules.

The panel found the rules do not violate Second Amendment rights. The lower court in 2021 had issued an injunction against two parts of Hawaii’s gun licensing rules: voiding permits to obtain pistols or revolvers not used after 30 days, and requiring applicants to present their firearm at a police station in some cases. The Ninth Circuit's 6-5 en banc ruling in Yukutake v.

Lopez lifted this injunction. U.S. Circuit Judge John Owens, writing for the majority, argued these rules are compatible with a “shall-issue” policy. Owens stated that “Unless a shall-issue law is 'put toward abusive ends,' such as through 'lengthy' processing delays or 'exorbitant fees,' it is presumptively constitutional.” The en banc panel disagreed with a divided three-judge panel of the federal appeals court that had previously found Hawaii’s shall-issue licensing scheme unconstitutional.

The ruling applies the U.S. Supreme Court's New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen decision, issued nine months after the lower court's 2021 ruling. Bruen established a new test for Second Amendment claims, requiring courts to determine if the plain text covers the conduct and if the law is consistent with historical firearm regulation.

The majority of the Ninth Circuit panel claims the provisions impose “only modest, procedural burdens” and do not materially impede plaintiffs from acquiring firearms. However, SAF Director of Legal Research and Education Konstadinos Moros stated the panel ignored the Supreme Court's Wolford decision, which placed the burden on the state to justify regulations if the Second Amendment's plain text is implicated.

Moros accused the Ninth Circuit of using footnote 9 of the Bruen decision to reverse this burden. The case originated when two Honolulu gun owners obtained a permit but missed the 30-day buying window, requiring them to restart the process.