Hawaii seeks to have pro-gun victory overturned, retried

The state is seeking a do-over in a case that said Hawaii’s restrictions on the open carry of firearms in public were not in line with the Second Amendment.

State and local officials last week filed a 114-page request to overturn the decision of a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit and send the case before a larger 11-judge en banc panel for a retrial. At stake is Hawaii’s ability to keep its strict limits on the unconcealed carry of firearms in public, which a two-judge majority found in July was unconstitutional.

“The importance of this case is beyond dispute,” argues Hawaii officials in the filing. “The panel struck down carry restrictions that have been in effect in Hawaii in some form for over 150 years. In doing so, it overruled a sovereign State’s judgment on a matter of the utmost concern to public safety. And it did so on the basis of a severe misunderstanding of state law.”