I can think of no better way to celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday than with the United States Supreme Court ruling in Wolford v. Lopez, a Hawaiian gun control law. But even more important that the fact this law was struck down, is how wonderfully it highlights the unique and masterful design of the United State of America.
Wolford v. Lopez was the appeal of one of Hawaii’s “Bruen Response” gun control laws. Like many of the nanny gun control states, Hawaii’s response to New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen was to redefine vast swaths of the public as so-called “sensitive spaces” where even licensed conceal carriers were not permitted to go armed. Hawaii included a provision which turned all private property open to the public like grocery stores, restaurants, hotels and shops into gun-free zones by default. To carry a concealed firearm into ANY private business, the concealed carry permit holder had to get express permission from the private property owner before entry. This led to the ‘vampire rule’ nickname, since it’s common knowledge a vampire can’t come into your home without being invited.
Hawaii defended this law under the Bruen, which requires any government regulation of firearms must be consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation, by citing post-Civil War Black Codes used to disarm newly freed slaves. Obviously, this was later ruled to be unconstitutional, but it was nonetheless used by the State of Hawaii as a valid historical comparison.
Bear in mind it was the Hawaii Supreme Court whose UNANIMOUS ruling directly defied the United States Supreme Court by deciding there is no right to carry a firearm in public in the State of Hawaii because it violates the “Spirit of Aloha”.
Long legal story short, the United States Supreme Court ruled in that violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendments. This ruling also invalidates ‘vampire rule’ laws in California, New York, New Jersey and Maryland.
The reaction from the anti-gun zealots was as predictable as it was ridiculous. In coordinated mock disgust statements manufactured by the folks at Gun Control, Inc., they complained the court is “expanding gun rights”, ignored Supreme Court tradition of protecting property rights, thwarted the will of the majority of Hawaii’s voters and democratically elected legislature.
To understand how important ruling is, let’s go back to the beginning of our nation and look at how our country was created. The Founding Fathers were terrified of a democracy and the potential for tyranny of the majority. This was reason we are a Constitutional Republic. This is why we have a Constitution and Bill of Rights, the three equal branches of government, a population-based House of Representatives and a Senate with two members from each state, no matter the size, and yes, even the Electoral College.
At the most basic level, the United States Supreme Court has never expanded gun rights. The rights have always existed as natural rights with the Second Amendment restricting the government, not the people. The Supreme Court could only rule on laws which infringed on those rights.
This case was also never about property rights. It is about the State of Hawaii declaring all private property a gun-free zone by default. Property owners have always had the right to deny access to people carrying firearms, but they must make this decision on their own. They have always been free to post signs declaring their property a gun-free zone.
As for the will of the majority of Hawaiians and their legislature, Associate Justice Barrett’s concurrence explains it very well. “While most Hawaiians might prefer that no one carry firearms in public places, a majority’s opposition to a constitutional right is not a permissible basis for restricting it.” “After all, ‘[t]he very purpose of a Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy’ and ‘to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials.’”
This is what the genius of our country’s design boils down to. Protecting the rights of everyone from the tyranny of the majority. So every time you hear someone talking about getting rid of relics of the past like the Second Amendment, the Electoral College and restructuring and packing the Supreme Court to “reduce the influence of politics”, understand it coming from those who wish to remove our Constitutional protections and impose their own ideology instead.
A final note: Good news Hawaii! The Attorney General is now reviewing the United States Supreme Court ruling. Hopefully the language is clear enough for her to understand the United States Constitution applies to the 50th state the same as it does to the other 49.
Bob
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Hawaii’s Vampire Rule, A United States Constitutional Lesson
