WOLFORD v. LOPEZ (2026)

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

Jason WOLFORD; Alison Wolford; Atom Kasprzycki; Hawaii Firearms Coalition, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Anne E. LOPEZ, in her official capacity as the Attorney General of the State of Hawaii, Defendant-Appellant.

No.23-16164

Decided: August 10, 2026

Before: Mary M. Schroeder, Susan P. Graber, and Jennifer Sung, Circuit Judges.

Alan A. Beck (argued), Law Offices of Alan Beck, San Diego, California; Kevin G. O'Grady, Law Office of Kevin O'Grady LLC, Honolulu, Hawaii; for Plaintiffs-Appellees. Neal K. Katyal (argued) and Dana A. Raphael, Hogan Lovells US LLP, Washington, D.C.; Benjamin A. Gifford, Alexandra Lichtenstein, Mary McCord, and Shelby Calambokidis, Georgetown University Law Center, Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, Washington, D.C.; Nicholas M. McLean, First Deputy Solicitor General; Kaliko‘onālani D. Fernandes, Solicitor General; Anne E. Lopez, Hawaii Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii; for Defendant Appellant. Thomas M. Bondy, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, Washington, D.C.; Melanie Hallums, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, New York, New York; Esther Sanchez Gomez, Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, San Francisco, California; Douglas N. Letter and Shira Lauren Feldman, Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Washington, D.C.; for Amici Curiae Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence and Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Ashwin P. Phatak, Principal Deputy Solicitor General; Caroline S. Van Zile, Deputy Attorney General; Brian L. Schwalb, Attorney General for the District of Columbia; Office of the District of Columbia Attorney General, Washington, D.C.; Sarah A. Hunger, Deputy Solicitor General; Jane E. Notz, Solicitor General; Kwame Raoul, Attorney General for the State of Illinois; Office of the Illinois Attorney General, Chicago, Illinois; Rob Bonta, California Attorney General, Office of the California Attorney General, Sacramento, California; Philip J. Weiser, Attorney General of Colorado, Office of the Colorado Attorney General, Denver, Colorado; William Tong, Attorney General of Connecticut, Office of the Connecticut Attorney General, Hartford, Connecticut; Kathleen Jennings, Attorney General of Delaware, Office of the Delaware Attorney General, Wilmington, Delaware; Aaron M. Frey, Maine Attorney General, Office of the Maine Attorney General, Augusta, Maine; Anthony G. Brown, Attorney General of Maryland, Office of the Maryland Attorney General, Baltimore, Maryland; Andrea J. Campbell, Attorney General of Massachusetts, Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General, Boston, Massachusetts; Dana Nessel, Attorney General of Michigan, Office of the Michigan Attorney General, Lansing, Michigan; Keith Ellison, Attorney General of Minnesota, Office of the Minnesota Attorney General, St. Paul, Minnesota; Matthew J. Platkin, New Jersey Attorney General, Office of the New Jersey Attorney General, Trenton, New Jersey; Letitia James, Attorney General of New York, Office of the New York Attorney General, New York, New York; Ellen F. Rosenblum, Attorney General of Oregon, Office of the Oregon Attorney General, Salem, Oregon; Michelle A. Henry, Attorney General of Pennsylvania, Office of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Peter F. Neronha, Rhode Island Attorney General, Office of the Rhode Island Attorney General; Charity R. Clark, Attorney General of Vermont, Office of the Vermont Attorney General, Montpelier, Vermont; Robert M. Ferguson, Attorney General of Washington, Office of the Washington Attorney General, Olympia, Washington; Edward E. Manibusan, Northern Mariana Islands Attorney General, Office of the Northern Mariana Islands Attorney General, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands; for Amici Curiae The District of Columbia and Illinois, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Alan E. Schoenfeld and Joshua M. Feinzig, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, New York, New York; Simon B. Kress, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, Boston, Massachusetts; for Amici Curiae Professors of Property Law. Priyanka G. Sen, Kari L. Still, William J. Taylor Jr., and Janet Carter, Everytown Law, New York, New York; for Amicus Curiae Everytown for Gun Safety. Jeremy S. Smith, Patrick J. Fuster, Adrienne M. Liu, and Eitan Arom, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Los Angeles, California; for Amicus Curiae Patrick J. Charles. Peter M. Torstensen Jr., Deputy Solicitor General; Christian B. Corrigan, Solicitor General; Austin Knudsen, Montana Attorney General; Office of the Montana Attorney General, Helena, Montana; Joshua N. Turner, Acting Solicitor General; Raul R. Labrador, Idaho Attorney General; Idaho Office of the Attorney General, Boise, Idaho; for Amicus Curiae State of Montana, Idaho and 15 other States. Erin M. Erhardt and Michael T. Jean, NRA Office of the General Counsel, Fairfax, Virginia; for Amicus Curiae National Rifle Association of America Inc. Edward A. Paltzik, Meredith Lloyd, and Serge Krimnus, Bochner PLLC, New York, New York, for Amicus Curiae The Second Amendment Foundation. Sebastian D. Torres, Gatlin Voelker PLLC, Covington, Kentucky; for Amicus Curiae National Association for Gun Rights. Carl D. Michel, Anna M. Barvir, and Konstadinos T. Moros, Michel & Associates PC, Long Beach, California; for Amicus Curiae Gun Owners of America Inc., Second Amendment Law Center, Hawaii Rifle Association, California Rifle & Pistol Association, Gun Owners of California; and Gun Owners Foundation. Bradley A. Benbrook and Stephen M. Duvernay, Benbrook Law Group PC, Sacramento, California; for Amici Curiae Angus Kirk McClellan, FPC Action Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition, California Gun Rights Foundation, The Center for Human Liberty, and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Alexander A. Frank (argued), C.D. Michel, Joshua R. Dale, and Konstadinos T. Moros, Michel & Associates PC, Long Beach, California; Donald Kilmer, Law Offices of Donald Kilmer APC, Caldwell, Idaho; for Appellees. Peter A. Patterson (argued), David H. Thompson, and Kate Hardiman, Cooper & Kirk PLLC, Washington, D.C.; Bradley A. Benbrook and Stephen M. Duvernay, Benbrook Law Group PC, Sacramento, California; for Plaintiffs-Appellees. Robert L. Meyerhoff (argued), Todd Grabarsky, Jane Reilley, Lisa J. Plank, and Carolyn Downs, Deputy Attorneys General; Mark R. Beckington and R. Matthew Wise, Supervising Deputy Attorneys General; Thomas S. Patterson, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Rob Bonta, California Attorney General; United States Department of Justice, Office of the California Attorney General, Los Angeles, California; for Defendant-Appellant. Sarah A. Hunger, Deputy Solicitor General; Jane E. Notz, Solicitor General; Kwame Raoul, Illinois Attorney General; Office of the Illinois Attorney General, Chicago, Illinois; Russell C. Bogue, Assistant Attorney General; Ashwin P. Phatak, Principal Deputy Solicitor General; Caroline S. Van Zile, Solicitor General; Brian L. Schwalb, Attorney General for the District of Columbia; Office of the District of Columbia Attorney General, Washington, D.C.; William Tong, Connecticut Attorney General, Office of the Connecticut Attorney General, Hartford, Connecticut; Kathleen Jennings, Delaware Attorney General, Office of the Delaware Attorney General, Wilmington, Delaware; Anne E. Lopez, Hawaii Attorney General, Office of the Hawaii Attorney General, Honolulu, Hawaii; Anthony G. Brown, Maryland Attorney General, Office of the Maryland Attorney General, Baltimore, Maryland; Andrea Joy Campell, Commonwealth of Massachusetts Attorney General, Office of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Attorney General, Boston, Massachusetts; Dana Nessel, Michigan Attorney General, Office of the Michigan Attorney General, Lansing, Michigan; Keith Ellison, Minnesota Attorney General, Office of the Minnesota Attorney General, St. Paul, Minnesota; Aaron D. Ford, Nevada Attorney General, Office of the Nevada Attorney General, Carson City, Nevada; Matthew J. Platkin, New Jersey Attorney General, Office of the New Jersey Attorney General, Trenton, New Jersey; Letitia James, New York Attorney General, Office of the New York Attorney General, New York, New York; Ellen F. Rosenblum, Oregon Attorney General, Office of the Oregon Attorney General, Salem, Oregon; Michelle A. Henry, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Attorney General, Office of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Attorney General, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Peter F. Neronha, Rhode Island Attorney General, Office of the Rhode Island Attorney General, Providence, Rhode Island; Charity R. Clark, Vermont Attorney General, Office of the Vermont Attorney General, Montpelier, Vermont; Robert W. Ferguson, Washington Attorney General, Office of the Washington Attorney General, Olympia, Washington; Edward E. Manibusan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Attorney General, Office of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Attorney General, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands; for Amici Curiae District of Columbia, Illinois, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Janet Carter, William J. Taylor, Jr., and Priyanka G. Sen, Everytown Law, New York, New York, for Amicus Curiae Everytown for Gun Safety. Stephanie Yonekura, Hogan Lovells US LLP, Los Angeles, California; Rachel M. Bayer and Diala Alqadi, Hogan Lovells US LLP, New York, New York; Joshua Schulster, Hogan Lovells US LLP, Miami, Florida; Jonathan L. Diesenhaus, Hannah M. Graae, and Allisa Newman, Hogan Lovells US LLP, Washington, D.C.; Elizabeth A. Och, Hogan Lovells US LLP, Denver, Colorado; Alex Ervin, Hogan Lovells US LLP, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; for Amici Curiae March for Our Lives. David E. Mastagni, Mastagni Holstedt APC, Sacramento, California; Timothy K. Talbot, Rains Lucia Stern St. Phalle & Silver PC, Pleasant Hill, California; for Amici Curiae Peace Officers Research Association of California, California State Sheriff's Association, California Association of Highway Patrolmen, and Crime Prevention Research Center.

OPINION

In 2023, the Hawaii legislature enacted Act 52, which prohibits the carry of firearms in many sensitive places. The law also prohibits the carry of firearms onto private property unless the owner allows it. Several Plaintiffs brought this action, asserting that the law violates the Second Amendment, and they sought a preliminary injunction as to some aspects of the law. The district court granted in part and denied in part Plaintiffs' request. Defendant Anne E. Lopez, Attorney General of the State of Hawaii, timely appealed.

We affirmed the preliminary injunction in several respects and reversed the preliminary injunction in several respects. Wolford v. Lopez, 116 F.4th 959 (9th Cir. 2024). Relevant here, we held that Plaintiffs had not shown a likelihood of success in challenging the law's default rule as to private property, which is codified in Hawaii Revised Statutes section 134-9.5. Id. at 992–96. The Supreme Court granted certiorari limited to the question concerning the private-property rule. Wolford v. Lopez, ––– U.S. ––––, 146 S. Ct. 79, 222 L.Ed.2d 1241 (2025). Addressing that question only, the Court reversed our determination and remanded for further proceedings. Wolford v. Lopez, 609 U.S. –––, 146 S. Ct. 2032, ––– L.Ed.2d –––– (2026). Accordingly, we now affirm the district court's injunction as to Hawaii Revised Statutes section 134-9.5. Our analysis as to all other aspects of Hawaii's law is unaffected.

For the reasons stated here and in our earlier decision, we affirm the injunction insofar as it enjoins Hawaii Revised Statutes sections 134-9.5 and 134-9.1(a)(12) and “the portions of [Hawaii Revised Statutes section 134-9.1](a)(1) that prohibit carrying firearms in parking areas owned, leased, or used by the State or a county which share the parking area with non-governmental entities, are not reserved for State or county employees, or do not exclusively serve the State or county building.” We reverse the injunction insofar as it enjoins Hawaii Revised Statutes sections 134-9.1(a)(4) and 134-9.1(a)(9).

AFFIRMED IN PART AND REVERSED IN PART. REMANDED.

GRABER, Circuit Judge:

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