SAN FRANCISCO, CA (November 13, 2023) – Today, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and FPC Action Foundation (FPCAF) announced the filing of a brief with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (and motion requesting permission to file) in support of the plaintiffs in Wolford v. Lopez, which challenges multiple public carry bans enacted by Hawaii in response to the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision. The brief can be viewed at FPCLaw.org.

“The locations Hawaii now hopes to treat as ‘sensitive’ cannot possibly be analogized to the core founding-era sensitive locations recognized in Bruen and District of Columbia v. Heller,” argues the brief. “The historical record shows that, at the founding, carry restrictions were strictly limited to locations where the government provided comprehensive security, which stands in stark contrast to Hawaii’s sweeping restrictions.”

"This brief represents yet another battle line in a multi-front war across the nation against tyrannical legislatures that are attempting to circumvent Supreme Court precedent and prevent peaceable individuals from being able to bear their arms in public for self-defense," said Cody J. Wisniewski, FPCAF's General Counsel and Vice President of Legal, and counsel for FPC. "We filed this brief to support the Wolford plaintiffs in their fight against Hawaii and to help advance the cause of all peaceable people across the nation."

“In an attempt to deny peaceable Hawaiians their right to bear arms, Hawaii has labeled a broad array of public locations ‘sensitive places’ where arms are prohibited,” said FPCAF’s Director of Constitutional Studies, Joseph Greenlee. “But as the brief explains, Hawaii’s restrictions are inconsistent with America’s tradition of firearm regulation and thus unconstitutional under the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision.”

FPC and FPCAF’s brief is joined by California Gun Rights Foundation (CGF), the Center for Human Liberty, and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA).

Individuals who would like to join the FPC Grassroots Army and support important pro-rights lawsuits and programs like these can sign up at JoinFPC.org. Individuals and organizations wanting to support charitable efforts in support of the restoration of Second Amendment and other natural rights can also make a tax-deductible donation to the FPC Action Foundation. For more on FPC’s lawsuits and other pro-Second Amendment initiatives, visit FPCLegal.org and follow FPC on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube.

Firearms Policy Coalition (firearmspolicy.org), a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization, exists to create a world of maximal human liberty, defend constitutional rights, advance individual liberty, and restore freedom. FPC’s efforts are focused on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and adjacent issues including freedom of speech, due process, unlawful searches and seizures, separation of powers, asset forfeitures, privacy, encryption, and limited government. The FPC team are next-generation advocates working to achieve the Organization’s strategic objectives through litigation, research, scholarly publications, amicus briefing, legislative and regulatory action, grassroots activism, education, outreach, and other programs.

FPC Law (FPCLaw.org) is the nation’s first and largest public interest legal team focused on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and the leader in the Second Amendment litigation and research space.

FPC Action Foundation (FPCActionFoundation.org), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, exists to create a world of maximal human liberty through charitable legal action, public policy, education, and research programs.