Young Case against Hawaii Carry Ban Finally Moving Forward

“It is apparently just fine for him to be taken from his home country to fight in Vietnam with high powered weaponry but then to forbid him to carry a handgun outside his home for self-defense in Hawaii.” (Brief of Amicus Curiae George K. Young in Support of Petitioners)

by David Codrea, Ammoland, June 15, 2020 (Under Creative Commons License: Attribution)

After being put on hold pending action on an unrelated case by the Supreme Court, the case of Young v. Hawaii is once more moving forward, with a hearing scheduled for the week of September 21, Hawaii Firearms Coalition reports.  The appeal, filed by attorney Alan Beck in 2012 and joined by attorney Stephen Stamboulieh in 2015, challenges Hawaii statutes regulating carry permits – and lack thereof – on Second Amendment grounds. Plaintiff George Young, denied a concealed carry permit, was also denied the right to carry openly.

The case was delayed earlier his year per a Feb.14, 2019 order:

“En banc proceedings are stayed and submission of this case for decision by the en banc court is deferred pending the issuance of an opinion by the United States Supreme Court in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. City of New York, No. 18-280 and further order of this Court.”

“This is the second stay of proceedings in this case since Mr. Young’s case was first docketed in this Court on December 24, 2012,” a motion for reconsideration observed at the time.

“Mr. Young has now been on appeal in the Ninth Circuit since December 24, 2012 (six years, four months and twenty days) and there is still no end in sight,” a May 2019 friend of the court brief filed in the New York case reminded the Supreme Court. “Mr. Young will be seventy years old this year in September.”

Attorney Beck elaborated further on the case going forward in a brief one-on-one with AmmoLand Shooting Sports News:

What's the case?

The case is challenging the State of Hawaii handgun carry law and the County of Hawaii's application of that state law.

Why is it necessary?

It is needed because Hawaii effectively bans the carry of firearms. While there is a law on the books, the County has never issued a permit.

Tell us about your client.

My client is a native Hawaiian.  He is a Vietnam infantry veteran who retired from the Army after  21 years of service.

How long has he been trying to get his rights recognized?

He has been trying since 2007.  He has filed three federal lawsuits over the handgun carry law.  I began to represent him during the third lawsuit.

Where is the case now?

We won in front of a three-judge panel.  We are going to argue in front of the 11-judge Ninth Circuit en banc panel in Sept.

As noted in previous AmmoLand reporting:

“We must come to see with the distinguished jurist of yesterday that ‘justice too long delayed is justice denied,’” Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in his historic “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”

Justice for Young – and for all gun owners who believe unyieldingly in the right of the people to keep and bear arms – has been delayed for far too long. If it’s denied, such gun owners will be quoting Kennedy instead of King.

Good News on Another Front

In a tangentially-related development, a settlement, release, and indemnity agreement has been reached in the case of Yukutake v. Honolulu.

Per the Hawaii Firearms Coalition:

“The lawsuit alleges that Hawaii’s requirement to transport a firearm to a police station for registration and Honolulu police department policies for the acquisition and registration of firearms is burdensome and unconstitutional.”

Attorney Beck explained the settlement in an email notice announcing the agreement:

“The City and County of Honolulu entered into a settlement agreement with two of my clients…. After the lockdown is over, everyone who is in line at HPD's firearms registration department by 630 p.m. on Wednesdays will be served. The door used to be closed at 3 p.m. so my clients had to miss work to buy a new firearm. Secondly, HPD will be implementing a new system to email completed permits to acquire to applicants so they don't have to go back to the station to pick them up.”

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Related: Settlement Improves Honolulu Gun Registration System