Justice Thomas slams Hawaii’s gun permit laws in SCOTUS denial

While he agreed with the Supreme Court's decision to not intervene in a Hawaii man's right-to-carry case, Justice Thomas criticized the state's restrictive gun laws.

by Alexandra Jones, Court House News, December 9, 2024

WASHINGTON (CN) — Alongside harsh words from Justice Clarence Thomas, the Supreme Court declined Monday to take up the case of a Hawaii man arrested in 2017 for carrying a loaded gun without a license after he trespassed onto private property during a hike. 

While Thomas acknowledged the Second Amendment case was not appropriate for the court's review, he indicated willingness to revisit the matter in a future case. Thomas said the issue “clearly remains imperative, given lower courts’ continued insistence on treating the Second Amendment ‘right so cavalierly.’”

Christopher Wilson’s 2017 arrest brought into question Hawaii's “may issue” licensing system. Through the system, local police chiefs held the power to decide whether individuals could carry guns, either openly or concealed. However, it was notorious for granting almost no permits, with Hawaii police issuing zero concealed carry licenses in 2017. 

Wilson was charged with misdemeanor trespassing and firearm offenses, but he fought back, arguing on appeal that Hawaii’s draconian laws violated his Second Amendment rights. Hawaii’s Circuit Court sided with him. It ruled that the state’s tight restrictions on carrying guns in public did not align with the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 2022 Bruen decision.

Justice Thomas, a George H.W. Bush appointee, agreed with that logic Monday, challenging the state’s system of restricting license eligibility to Hawaiians with “exceptional cases,” or those with special “urgency” or “need.”

“Hawaii’s onerous restrictions closely paralleled those in the New York regime we held unconstitutional in Bruen,” he wrote.

But on appeal, the Hawaii Supreme Court was quick to reject the circuit court’s interpretation.

While it acknowledged the federal right to carry guns, it ruled that Wilson couldn’t challenge the state’s licensing system because he never formally applied for a permit. In its view, Hawaii’s strict gun laws didn’t violate the Second Amendment because Wilson’s case didn’t directly challenge the core issue of licensing.

The court went on to criticize the originalist view of the Second Amendment championed by the U.S. Supreme Court, calling it an obstacle to state efforts to protect public safety and reduce gun violence. It argued that the "spirit of Aloha" — a deep-rooted cultural ethos of peace and harmony — should guide gun laws in Hawaii, not a federally mandated right to carry weapons in public.

Thomas said he found that sentiment particularly concerning. “We should make clear that Americans are always free to invoke the Second Amendment as a defense against unconstitutional firearms-licensing schemes,” he wrote.

“Perhaps Wilson himself will present that case, should he file a post-trial petition for certiorari. Regardless, this issue is an important and recurring one.” 

The justice also warned that the denial could set a dangerous precedent for allowing states to trample federal law without consequences.

Gun-related deaths in Hawaii are notably low; it reported just 38 in 2017.

Justice Samuel Alito, a George W. Bush appointee, joined Thomas’s statement.

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PM: Supreme Court declines to intervene in case that upholds Hawaii’s ‘spirit of Aloha’ over 2A rights