Supreme Court Voids Hawaii Gun-Carry Rule in 6-3 Ruling, Rejecting Black Code Defense
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jun 27
Supreme Court Voids Hawaii Gun-Carry Rule in 6-3 Ruling, Rejecting Black Code Defense
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 27
Summary
A 6-3 Supreme Court ruling barred Hawaii from requiring licensed gun owners to get express permission before carrying firearms onto private property open to the public.
Justice Samuel Alito said Hawaii could not rely on an 1865 Louisiana Black Code under the Court's Bruen history test, calling it a "tainted artifact" meant to disarm newly freed Black Americans.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, arguing the Court excluded that history without first deciding whether the old law itself violated the Second Amendment or was unconstitutional because of discriminatory enforcement.
Businesses still may ban guns by posting or enforcing no-firearms policies, but the state cannot presume all private businesses are off-limits unless owners opt in.
Gun-rights lawyers and advocacy groups cast the decision as a broader warning that states cannot apply a narrower standard to the Second Amendment than to other constitutional rights.
How does rejecting a racist 1865 law as precedent reshape the modern debate over gun rights in public spaces?
With default gun bans voided, who now truly controls whether firearms are allowed in America's stores and restaurants?
Wolford v. Lopez: Supreme Court’s 6-3 Ruling Reshapes Gun Rights and Property Law Nationwide
Overview
On June 25, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Hawaii law that banned carrying firearms onto private property open to the public without the owner's express consent. This landmark decision in Wolford v. Lopez, led by Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., declared the law unconstitutional and affirmed a broad interpretation of the Second Amendment, allowing Americans to carry guns for self-defense beyond their homes. The ruling immediately changed gun rights and property owner responsibilities in Hawaii and could impact similar laws nationwide, shifting the burden to property owners to explicitly prohibit firearms on their premises.