It was a huge day for Second Amendment rights as the Supreme Court ruled in Wolford v. Lopez that concealed carry permit holders cannot be barred on private property. Hawaii is one of the most anti-gun states in the country, and obtaining a permit is already a herculean task. This law essentially gutted the purpose of a carry permit, and the Court remedied that in a 6-3 decision. Under the old law, a carry permit holder would've been required to ask permission to enter a grocery store if he or she was carrying, for example. It was madness. Hawaii's law that kneecapped carry holders was passed after the landmark 2022 Bruen decision, where the Court ruled the Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect the right for citizens to carry handguns for self-defense outside the home (via NYT):
NEW — The Supreme Court rules that a Hawaii law which barred gun owners with concealed carry permits from carrying firearms onto private property without express permission from property owners is unconstitutional.
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 25, 2026
The vote was 6-3.
🚨 BOOM! US SUPREME COURT BLOCKS Democrats from banning legal firearm carriers entering businesses without express permission from the owner
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 25, 2026
The 2nd Amendment keeps winning, and liberals are FURIOUS. pic.twitter.com/7WnaK3n9ho
The 2nd opinion is Wolford. The court holds Hawaii’s law barring licensed concealed-carry permit holders from carrying handguns on private property open to the public without the property owner’s express authorization violates the 2nd and 14th Amendmentshttps://t.co/KVe3PlUahe
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 25, 2026
🚨 BREAKING: The Supreme Court has ruled 6-3 that Hawaii's law banning licensed concealed-carry permit holders from carrying handguns on private property open to the public is unconstitutional!
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) June 25, 2026
Major SCOTUS win for the Second Amendment. pic.twitter.com/jLOO2WnYkh
The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a Hawaii law that required gun owners to get permission before carrying a firearm onto private property like grocery stores, coffee shops and gas stations that are otherwise open to the public.
The case is the latest victory for gun rights advocates before the court since the justices decided in the 2022 landmark Second Amendment ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen that Americans have a broad right to arm themselves in public.
In a 6-to-3 decision, split along ideological lines, the court’s conservative majority held that Hawaii’s gun restriction violated the Second Amendment’s protections.
Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. explained that “the Hawaii law at issue here violates the constitutional right to keep and bear arms.”
The decision is the second time in recent weeks that the justices have sided with gun owners who argued that laws restricting firearms violated the Second Amendment. On June 18, the justices voted unanimously in favor of a Texas marijuana user who argued that gun owners should not be automatically stripped of their rights because of illegal drug use.
In the Bruen case, the court’s conservative majority laid out a new test for gun control laws, finding that courts should analyze whether they align with the country’s “history and tradition” to determine if they met constitutional muster.
In response to that ruling, lawmakers in Hawaii revisited state gun laws, quickly passing a number of new restrictions on concealed carrying of handguns. Among them was a ban on weapons in so-called sensitive places such as schools, parks and beaches.
You can read the full opinion here: