Last Wednesday, the State of Hawaii filed a petition requesting en banc review (by an 11-judge panel) of a 9th Circuit three-judge panel’s unanimous ruling in Teter v. Lopez, 76 F.4th 938 (9th Cir. 2023). The Teter ruling declared Hawaii’s ban on butterfly knives unconstitutional, and the three-judge panel’s correct application of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Bruen has implications that extend well beyond just butterfly knives and well beyond Hawaii.
The case so far is a critical win for our Second Amendment rights, but Hawaii now seeks to reverse it through review by an 11-judge en banc panel.
States facing Second Amendment lawsuits challenging various gun laws have worked very hard to twist and misapply the Bruen methodology, and some courts have gone along with the distortions of Bruen that states are advocating. The Teter case so far sets the record straight, applies Bruen faithfully, and is a critical win for our Second Amendment rights that Hawaii now seeks to reverse through en banc review. The Second Amendment Law Center is assisting the plaintiffs in the case and preparing briefs to file with the en banc panel and will fight to preserve this ruling beyond that if necessary.
You can read the whole thing here…
Raging Against 9th Circuit’s Pro-Arms Ruling: Hawaii Gambles on En Banc Review