FPC, FPCAF File Supreme Court Brief in Young v. Hawaii 2nd Amendment Lawsuit Challenging State’s Carry Ban

WASHINGTON, DC (June 25, 2021) — Today, FPC Action Foundation (FPCAF, formerly FPF) announced the filing of a supporting brief in the Second Amendment lawsuit George K. Young v. State of Hawaii, et al., which challenges Hawaii’s laws and policies that prevent law-abiding people from exercising their right to carry firearms in public for self-defense.

The brief, cowritten with Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) argues that the Court should grant Young’s petition in order to resolve the split between the federal courts regarding the standard of review used when analyzing Second Amendment challenges, noting that while “[m]ost Circuits have adopted a two-level standard of review, with a higher standard applicable to cases involving the ‘core right’ of the Second Amendment,” the Court should instead impose a standard “that focuses on the Second Amendment’s text as informed by history and tradition.”

Additionally, the brief argues that the Court should take up this case because “[t]he Ninth Circuit has been especially hostile to the Second Amendment” and “unless this Court reinforces its precedents, it will continue to treat the Second Amendment as a second-class right.” Indeed, FPC’s brief concludes, “[t]he Circuits interpreting the Second and Fourteenth Amendment right to arms have divided in at least four different and significant ways. But only a test based on the Second Amendment’s text, informed by history and tradition, is consistent with Heller and McDonald. This Court should resolve these differences.”

“The Ninth Circuit’s flawed decision in Young is in direct conflict with the Second Amendment’s original public meaning and our Founders’ intent when they ratified the Bill of Rights,” said FPC’s Director of Constitutional Studies, Joseph Greenlee. “The Second Amendment’s text, as well as the practice and tradition throughout our nation’s history, make clear that the right to bear arms means what it says—that the people have a right to carry loaded, operable firearms outside the home. We are hopeful the Supreme Court will right this wrong and unequivocally restore the rights secured by the Second Amendment.”