Hawaii gun owners will once again have to use their handgun acquisition permits within 30 days and bring certain newly bought firearms to a police station for inspection, after an 11-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 6-5 to reverse a lower court injunction that had blocked those rules. The decision in *Yukutake v. Lopez*, issued Tuesday, upholds Hawaii Revised Statutes §§ 134-2(e) and 134-3, undoing a federal district court ruling that had sided with gun owners back in 2021.
The case traces back to 2019, when Honolulu County residents Todd Yukutake and David Kikukawa sued the state over the constitutionality of the permit deadline and the inspection requirement, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. The pair challenged both the requirement that applicants complete a firearm-information form and the mandate to bring certain firearms in for police inspection. The Second Amendment Foundation filed an amicus brief in the appeal.
Writing for the majority, Ninth Circuit Judge John B. Owens held that because Hawaii runs an objective, non-discretionary shall-issue licensing system, its 30-day permit deadline and inspection rules impose only what he called “modest, procedural burdens” that are presumptively constitutional unless shown to be used for “abusive ends,” per the court's opinion. The majority leaned on footnote 9 of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 *Bruen* decision, which addressed objective shall-issue permitting systems, according to Reuters. The Star-Advertiser reports the panel found the challenged provisions do not materially impede plaintiffs from acquiring firearms.
A Sharp Dissent and a Path to the Supreme Court
Five judges dissented, with Judge Ryan D. Nelson arguing the majority improperly shifted the legal burden onto gun owners instead of requiring Hawaii to show a historical tradition supporting the rules, Reuters reported. The dissenters contended the state failed to provide an adequate historical analogue for either the permit deadline or the physical inspection rule. The Daily Journal identified Alan A. Beck as counsel for the plaintiffs.
The ruling caps a seven-year legal back-and-forth. U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright initially struck down the restrictions in 2021, when Hawaii law required permits to be used within just 10 days and mandated police station inspection for virtually all newly acquired firearms within five days, according to GUNS Magazine. State lawmakers later widened the window to 30 days and narrowed the inspection scope while the case was still on appeal. A three-judge Ninth Circuit panel had actually sided with the gun owners in March 2025, affirming the district court and declaring both requirements facially unconstitutional, per Justia Law, before the full court granted en banc rehearing in August 2025 to take another look.
State Officials Defend the Rules
Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez said the state can protect public safety through reasonable, objective firearm regulations while still respecting Second Amendment rights, per the Star-Advertiser, adding that Hawaii will continue defending laws that protect its communities and comply with the constitution. The case was handled for the state by the Department of the Attorney General's appellate division along with outside counsel Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader, the Star-Advertiser reports.
Everytown Law filed an amicus brief supporting Hawaii. Hawaii Revised Statutes § 134-2(e) and § 134-3 govern the permit and inspection rules.
Part of a Bigger National Legal Fight
The Ninth Circuit's decision arrived three months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in *Wolford v. Lopez* in June, striking down Hawaii's so-called vampire rule on carry that had made private property open to the public presumptively off-limits to concealed carry permit holders. That case dealt with public carry, while *Yukutake v. Lopez* focused instead on initial handgun acquisition and possession in the home. The Star-Advertiser also notes Governor Josh Green signed Senate Bill 1230 into law as Act 52 in 2023, a separate measure dictating when and where people may carry firearms in the state.
The Ninth Circuit's decision addresses how the Second Amendment applies to procedural requirements for acquiring firearms. *Yukutake v. Lopez* concerns how far states can go in regulating the mechanics of buying a gun without running afoul of the Second Amendment.
