HUGE WIN IN WOLFORD!
Today is a day California gun owners have been working toward for years. The United States Supreme Court has issued its decision in Wolford v. Lopez — and we won! Decisively.
In a landmark ruling, the Court struck down Hawaii’s sweeping “sensitive places” gun law — the same blueprint used by California’s Senate Bill 2.
“Today’s ruling correctly overturns Hawaii’s absurd over-reach,” noted CPRA President & General Counsel Chuck Michel. “We look forward now to renewing our efforts in May v. Bonta to overturn California’s similar law.”
The Court held that Hawaii’s law violates both the Second and Fourteenth Amendments and reversed the Ninth Circuit’s previous ruling. The court opined that states may not designate vast swaths of everyday public life as gun-free zones without clear historical grounding. This ruling directly and immediately undermines California’s SB 2.
“Merely local attitudes can neither shrink nor inflate the meaning of fundamental Bill of Rights guarantees that apply to the States through the Fourteenth Amendment.”
– Justice Alito, in the Wolford majority opinion
What does this mean for Californians?
Our case, May v. Bonta, has been stayed in the federal district court pending this ruling. With Wolford now decided in our favor, the road is clear to resume litigation and push for final judgment invalidating California’s most oppressive carry restrictions — parks, restaurants that serve alcohol, libraries, public transit, and more.
Gavin Newsom no longer gets to arbitrarily stop gun owners from protecting themselves in public. We will be fighting this out in May v. Bonta now and await a new ruling that is in line with the Supreme Court decision.
This is the biggest Second Amendment victory in California in years. But victories like this don’t happen by accident — they happen because CRPA members showed up, stayed committed, and funded the legal fight every step of the way.
The work is not finished. Sacramento will not surrender quietly. They will attempt to rewrite SB 2 to thread the needle of this ruling. We must be ready to challenge every new scheme they devise. That requires resources. It requires you.
Today we are asking you to make a special Victory Contribution to the effort to defeat SB 2 once and for all in California. We know these lawsuits are long and people lose hope, but this victory shows that our resolve to dismantle unconstitutional laws ultimately does prevail. Please donate!