DOJ Urges SCOTUS to Strike Down Hawaii’s Backdoor Gun Ban

In a rare and powerful move, the U.S. Department of Justice has thrown its weight behind gun owners, urging the Supreme Court to hear Wolford v. Lopez, a pivotal case challenging Hawaii’s post-Bruen “sensitive location” law. This could be a landmark moment for gun rights—and it’s sending shockwaves through the anti-gun establishment.

For what appears to be the first time ever, the federal government has filed an amicus brief siding with petitioners in a Second Amendment challenge. The brief—submitted by Solicitor General D. John Sauer and others in the Trump administration—calls Hawaii’s restrictive carry law “plainly unconstitutional.”

The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) applauded the move and credited the DOJ’s newly formed Second Amendment Task Force with taking meaningful action.

“This is utter garbage,” said Steven from USCCA, breaking down the issue in a recent video. “You need to take this case and you need to overturn the Ninth Circuit’s rationale.”

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The backstory is clear: After the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision struck down “may issue” permitting schemes, states like Hawaii, California, and New York didn’t retreat—they doubled down. They created what can only be described as carry bans by redefining everyday places as “sensitive locations.”

Under Hawaii’s Act 52, law-abiding concealed carry holders are barred from entering playgrounds, museums, and even businesses—unless the business owner gives explicit permission through a sign or verbal invite.

CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb didn’t mince words. “Hawaii’s Act 52 was defiantly passed in response to the Supreme Court’s Bruen ruling, and is designed to essentially make the exercise of Second Amendment rights impossible,” he said. “No state can say it is above the Bill of Rights.”

The Ninth Circuit’s decision to uphold Hawaii’s backdoor gun ban while striking down California’s similar statute raised eyebrows. The DOJ’s brief slammed the court not only for its conclusion but for the “reasoning” behind it—signaling that the federal government views the Ninth Circuit’s logic as deeply flawed.

“If the Supreme Court hears this case and rules as it should, most so-called sensitive location bans will crumble,” Steven explained. “It would reaffirm the basic principle that Americans have the right to bear arms not just at home, but in public for self-defense.”

The SAF and USCCA both emphasized that Hawaii is part of a broader strategy by anti-gun states to circumvent Bruen through legal gymnastics. The DOJ’s involvement may be a sign that the tide is turning—and that the Second Amendment Task Force is just getting started.

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