US Domestic — 2026-06-28

Supreme Court Issues Three 6-3 Rulings Striking Down Hawaii Gun Restriction and Expanding Trump Immigration Enforcement Powers

BLUFWolford v. Lopez forces five states to dismantle consent-based carry frameworks while shrinking the pool of historical analogues available to defend any post-Bruen gun restriction.

The Supreme Court on June 25 ruled 6-3 in Wolford v. Lopez that Hawaii's Act 52, which required concealed-carry permit holders to obtain express property-owner consent before entering any business open to the public, violates the Second Amendment 123. Justice Alito, writing for a majority joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, rejected Hawaii's reliance on an 1865 Louisiana Black Codes statute as a historical analogue, calling it a "tainted artifact" that cannot illuminate Second Amendment meaning 13. SCOTUSblog reported the ruling will also void similar laws in California, Maryland, New York, and New Jersey 1. Justices Jackson and Sotomayor dissented on property-rights grounds; Justice Kagan dissented separately, finding founding-era laws sufficient to uphold the restriction 13.

Analysis
*Wolford v. Lopez* pulls identical consent-framework statutes in California, Maryland, New York, and New Jersey into the same constitutional infirmity, per SCOTUSblog's specialist legal reporting. Alito's categorical rejection of the 1865 Louisiana Black Codes statute as a permissible *Bruen* analogue narrows the historical record states may invoke to defend carry restrictions, accelerating attrition of post-*Bruen* legislative regimes. Barrett's concurrence closes the dissent's property-rights litigation pathway: Second Amendment scrutiny attaches to arms-bearing property rules regardless of background property law defaults, establishing a nationwide opt-out default for concealed carriers on commercial property. Affected legislatures may attempt functional equivalence through mandatory posted-prohibition signage, recreating consent regimes by regulatory rather than statutory means.
4 sources
  1. Supreme Court strikes down Hawaii gun restriction - SCOTUSblog
  2. Supreme Court strikes down Hawaii law requiring permission to carry guns in stores and hotels - PBS NewsHour
  3. Supreme Court strikes down sweeping Hawaii gun law 6-3 - Washington Examiner
  4. 5 takeaways from Supreme Court's big rulings on immigration, guns - The Hill

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