March 24, 2021
A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that there is no right to carry a gun in public.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a 7-4 ruling rejected a challenge to Hawaii’s requirement that residents must pass an application to carry guns outside the home.
The court held, “…the Second Amendment does not guarantee an unfettered, general right to openly carry arms in public for individual self-defense. Accordingly, Hawaii’s firearms-carry scheme is lawful.”
Hawaii’s law requires residents to show an urgency or need to carry a firearm, the applicant must have good character, and be “engaged in the protection of life and property.”
George Young applied twice for a firearm carry license, but was denied. He unsuccessfully sued Hawaii officials over the restrictions.
“There is no right to carry arms openly in public; nor is any such right within the scope of the Second Amendment,” the court ruled in an “en banc” decision that involved several of the panel’s judges.
“We can find no general right to carry arms into the public square for self-defense,” the majority of the Court wrote, asserting that the Second Amendment applies to the “defense of hearth and home.”
“The power of the government to regulate carrying arms in the public square does not infringe in any way on the right of an individual to defend his home or business,” the judges concluded.
George Young’s lawyer said he will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case. “We are hopeful the Supreme Court will grant review in Mr. Young’s case,” attorney Alan Beck said.