Ninth Circuit upholds Hawaiʻi firearm licensing requirements

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today upheld important provisions of Hawaiʻi’s firearm licensing laws, finding that the challenged requirements are consistent with the Second Amendment.

In the opinion, the court upheld Hawaiʻi’s requirements establishing a 30-day period to use a permit to acquire a handgun and requiring certain newly acquired firearms to be brought to a police station for inspection.

“This decision recognizes that Hawaiʻi can protect public safety through reasonable, objective firearm regulations while respecting the rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment,” said Attorney General Anne Lopez. “We will continue to vigorously defend laws that protect Hawaiʻi’s communities and are consistent with the Constitution.”

The Ninth Circuit recognized that Hawaiʻi, like other states, is a “shall-issue” jurisdiction for firearm permitting, meaning that an applicant who satisfies the state’s objective requirements may obtain a permit. The court explained that under US Supreme Court precedent, objective, non-abusive “shall-issue” licensing regimes are presumptively constitutional. 

The court then concluded that the plaintiffs had failed to demonstrate that the two presumptively lawful requirements challenged in this case have been put toward “abusive ends” that would effectively deny Second Amendment rights. The court determined that the challenged requirements impose only “modest, procedural burdens” and “do not materially impede Plaintiffs from acquiring firearms.”

The case, Yukutake v. Lopez, was filed in 2019. A federal district court ruled in plaintiffs’ favor in 2021. Following the US Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the case ultimately went before an 11-judge en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit. The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court’s judgment and remanded the case for further proceedings.

The case was handled by the Department’s Appellate Division and Hogan Lovells Cadwalader.