07-24-2018, 05:55 AM
Appeals court says Hawaii's restrictions on handguns in public are unconstitutional
BIG ISLAND (HawaiiNewsNow) -
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday ruled that the Constitution’s Second Amendment allows people to openly carry a gun in public for self-defense.
The case originated in Hawaii County.
In 2011, George K. Young applied twice for a license to carry a handgun, but the Hawaii County police chief denied it each time because Young didn’t meet the state’s licensing rules that generally requires people to keep their guns at home.
But the panel ruled that Hawaii law violated the Second Amendment, saying, “the right to bear arms must guarantee some right to self-defense in public.”
The ruling was by a three-judge panel, with two voting to reject Hawaii's open-carry restrictions and a third, Hawaii-based Judge Richard Clifton dissenting. The court reversed a ruling by Federal District Judge Helen Gillmore which upheld Hawaii's restrictions, which are considered among the toughest in the nation.
Judge Clifton in his dissenting opinion said Hawaii's law falls within the discretion given the state's to make their own decisions about public safety and that restrictions on openly carrying firearms have a long history in this country and are allowed because the Supreme Court has ruled that the right to bear arms is not absolute.
Hawaii's law restricts open carry permits only to people involved in law enforcement or security except under "exceptional" cases. Gun rights activists have often complained that amounts to basically a ban on citizens carrying firearms in public because the county police chiefs almost never approve permits to carry in public.
The Hawaii laws have been appealed before, this is the first time the appeals court has ruled to overturn them. The case was sent back to the District Court which must rehear the case based on the instructions from the appeals court.
The case can also be appealed by asking the appeals court to convene a much larger panel of judges to hear the same arguments and potentially overrule the three-judge panel.
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/38718...titutional
BIG ISLAND (HawaiiNewsNow) -
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday ruled that the Constitution’s Second Amendment allows people to openly carry a gun in public for self-defense.
The case originated in Hawaii County.
In 2011, George K. Young applied twice for a license to carry a handgun, but the Hawaii County police chief denied it each time because Young didn’t meet the state’s licensing rules that generally requires people to keep their guns at home.
But the panel ruled that Hawaii law violated the Second Amendment, saying, “the right to bear arms must guarantee some right to self-defense in public.”
The ruling was by a three-judge panel, with two voting to reject Hawaii's open-carry restrictions and a third, Hawaii-based Judge Richard Clifton dissenting. The court reversed a ruling by Federal District Judge Helen Gillmore which upheld Hawaii's restrictions, which are considered among the toughest in the nation.
Judge Clifton in his dissenting opinion said Hawaii's law falls within the discretion given the state's to make their own decisions about public safety and that restrictions on openly carrying firearms have a long history in this country and are allowed because the Supreme Court has ruled that the right to bear arms is not absolute.
Hawaii's law restricts open carry permits only to people involved in law enforcement or security except under "exceptional" cases. Gun rights activists have often complained that amounts to basically a ban on citizens carrying firearms in public because the county police chiefs almost never approve permits to carry in public.
The Hawaii laws have been appealed before, this is the first time the appeals court has ruled to overturn them. The case was sent back to the District Court which must rehear the case based on the instructions from the appeals court.
The case can also be appealed by asking the appeals court to convene a much larger panel of judges to hear the same arguments and potentially overrule the three-judge panel.
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/38718...titutional
