Wolford v. Lopez
The Court Expands Right to Carry a Concealed Handguns
Wolford v. Lopez was featured in Second Amendment Rights Supreme Court Debates (April 2026). The following is excerpted from the 6-3 majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito, as prepared by the Court Reporter of Decisions. Hawaii’s law prohibiting licensed concealed-carry permit holders from carrying handguns on private property open to the public without the property owner’s express authorization violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendments. The restrictions imposed by Hawaii’s challenged law fall within the plain text of the Second Amendment, so the law is presumptively unconstitutional. No party disputes that petitioners are among “the people” protected by the Second Amendment…
