Solicitor General Asks SCOTUS to Weigh In on Where Americans Carry Guns and What Guns They Can Own

The United States has filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the cert petition in Wolford v. Lopez seeking review of the following issue: “Whether the Second Amendment allows a State to make it unlawful for concealed-carry license-holders to carry firearms on private property open to the public without the property owner’s express authorization.” As the brief explains, “after Bruen, five States, including Hawaii, inverted the longstanding presumption and enacted a novel default rule under which individuals may carry firearms on private property only if the owner provides express authorization, such as by posting a conspicuous sign allowing guns.”  The Ninth Circuit upheld Hawaii’s law.

In doing so, Solicitor General John Sauer explained how multiple Justices and judges have recognized the need for more guidance from the Court on Second Amendment issues. The brief explains:

Rahimi began the process of clarifying who may possess arms…. This case affords an opportunity to begin addressing where arms may be carried. And the Court should, in an appropriate case, also provide a framework for evaluating what types of arms people may possess…. The Court’s consideration of those important questions would help lower courts seeking to interpret the Second Amendment, legislatures seeking to comply with the Constitution, and (most important) ordinary Americans seeking to exercise their fundamental right to possess and carry arms for lawful purposes such as self-defense.

— Stephen Halbrook in Second Amendment Roundup: Solicitor General Seeks Guidance from Supreme Court