The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a very important case called *Wolford v. Lopez*. This case is about whether people in Hawaii can carry a concealed firearm on private property that is open to the public. That includes places like sidewalks, parks, beaches, and even stores or banks. Right now, Hawaii says no—you can’t carry in those places. But the Constitution might say otherwise.
This case matters because it touches the heart of the Second Amendment—the right to keep and bear arms. Our Founders didn’t write the Second Amendment as a suggestion. They wrote it as a guarantee. It’s a protection against tyranny and a way for citizens to defend themselves and their families. When the government says you can’t carry your gun almost anywhere, it’s really saying you don’t have a right to carry at all.
The state of Hawaii has created so many “gun-free zones” that it’s nearly impossible for a law-abiding citizen to carry a firearm in public. According to Gun Owners of America, the law blocks carry in parks, sidewalks, beaches, most private property, government buildings, and banks. That covers almost every place a person might go in daily life.
The NRA rightly pointed out in their legal filing that Hawaii’s law was designed to make carrying a gun so difficult that most people would just give up. That’s not how rights work. You don’t have to beg the government to use your rights, and the government doesn’t get to make those rights useless by drawing a map full of no-carry zones.
Back in 2022, the Supreme Court ruled in *New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen* that the government must respect the historical tradition of gun rights. That means if a gun law doesn’t have a solid foundation in the history of the United States—especially around the time of the Founding—it probably isn’t constitutional.
The Hawaii law fails that test. There’s no record in American history of states banning the carrying of arms across nearly all public and private property. In fact, the Founders expected citizens to be armed and ready. That’s how they kept the peace and defended their communities. The Supreme Court’s decision in *Bruen* made it clear: the right to carry a firearm doesn’t stop at your front door.
Now the Court has a chance to reaffirm that truth. If it rules the right way in *Wolford v. Lopez*, Americans in every state—not just Hawaii—will be better protected from laws that try to erase the Second Amendment by a thousand cuts.
The media, of course, is already nervous. CNN called this a “thorny Second Amendment dispute.” That shows where their priorities lie. They’re more worried about people carrying guns in shopping malls than they are about the Constitution. But the Constitution doesn’t bend because someone feels uncomfortable. Rights don’t disappear just because you walk into a restaurant or store.
The Founders believed in strong citizens, not a weak government. They didn’t trust officials to make every choice for the people. They trusted the people to live free and defend themselves. That’s why the Second Amendment was written—to protect our liberty, not limit it.
When the Supreme Court hears this case, it should stay true to that founding vision. It should strike down Hawaii’s overreaching law and remind the states that the Constitution still means what it says. The right to carry arms is not a second-class right. It is a core part of American freedom.
Let’s pray the Court stands firm and defends the liberty our Founders fought so hard to secure. The people of Hawaii—and all Americans—deserve nothing less.
