Archived SI output (machine-generated)

Hawaii's law is constitutional: the Second Amendment does not override state property law requiring owner consent for firearms on private premises.

Mode: Scotus Opinion Generated by VFA SI Solutions Drafted: 2026.06.29

Archived SI output (machine-generated) · No editorial review recorded

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Supreme Court opinion

Wolford v. Lopez

Samuel Alito

Author
Samuel Alito
Filed
2026-06-25
Citation
—
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Archived SI draft (machine-generated)

Hawaii's law is constitutional: the Second Amendment does not override state property law requiring owner consent for firearms on private premises.

Whether Hawaii's law requiring express property owner consent for carrying concealed handguns on private property open to the public violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendments.

Constitutional concerns with the original

  1. The majority opinion relies on Bruen's 'historical analogues' test, which is not found in the text of the Second Amendment and was invented in 2022, not in 1791 or 1868.
  2. The majority treats the Second Amendment as creating a presumptive right to carry on all private property open to the public, ignoring the common-law principle that property rights (Fifth Amendment) limit access to private land.
  3. The opinion fails to consider the Tenth Amendment, which reserves to states the power to regulate property within their borders, including conditions on entry onto private land.

Solution text

1) The question is whether the Second Amendment, as applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, prohibits Hawaii from requiring express property owner consent before a licensed concealed-carry permit holder may carry a handgun on private property open to the public. 2) The Second Amendment states: 'A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.' The Fifth Amendment states: 'nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.' The Tenth Amendment states: 'The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.' 3) At ratification (1791) and at the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment (1868), the common law recognized that a property owner had the right to exclude others from their land, including by imposing conditions on entry. No historical source suggests the Second Amendment gave individuals a right to enter private property without the owner's consent. The right to bear arms was understood as a right against government disarmament, not a right to trespass. The Militia Act of 1792 required arms for militia service but did not override state property law. Federalist No. 46 (Madison) confirms the Second Amendment was about preserving state militias against federal overreach, not creating a right to carry on private land. 4) Holding: Hawaii's law is constitutional. The Second Amendment does not preempt state property law requiring express consent for firearms on private premises. The state's interest in public safety and property rights is legitimate. The law does not infringe the core right of self-defense because permit holders may carry on public property and on private property with owner consent. The law is a reasonable regulation of the manner of carrying, not a prohibition. 5) Downstream: States may continue to regulate firearms on private property open to the public. The Bruen 'historical analogues' test is narrowed: it does not apply to property-based restrictions. The Second Amendment does not create a right to enter private land without the owner's permission.

Operative provisions

remedy
The Ninth Circuit's decision upholding Hawaii's law is affirmed. The injunction against enforcement is dissolved.
stare decisis treatment
Bruen is overruled to the extent it requires a 'historical analogues' test for property-based restrictions. The Second Amendment's plain text does not address private property access; the Tenth Amendment reserves that power to the states.
scope of holding
This holding applies only to laws requiring express property owner consent for firearms on private property open to the public. It does not affect laws prohibiting firearms on public property or laws that completely ban carrying in public.

Bipartisan rationale

This holding honors Democratic priorities by upholding state police power to regulate firearms for public safety and property rights. It honors Republican priorities by preserving the Second Amendment's core right of self-defense (carrying on public property and with owner consent) and by rejecting judicial invention of untextual tests. Both parties' constitutional traditions—Democratic emphasis on federalism and Republican emphasis on original meaning—are served.

Constitutional citations

  • → Second Amendment
  • → Fifth Amendment (Due Process and Takings Clauses)
  • → Tenth Amendment
  • → Federalist No. 46 (Madison on militia and state powers)

Amendment II Amendment V Amendment X

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Generated by VFA SI Solutions · 2026.06.29 06:03 UTC · ← Back to the Republic