New Filing in Yukutake v. Lopez Accuses Hawaii of Rewriting Gun Laws to Dodge Defeat

Summary

A new filing in the *Yukutake v. Lopez* case accuses Hawaii of intentionally rewriting gun laws to moot a constitutional challenge and avoid defeat, a tactic previously used in *Teter v. Lopez*. Attorney Alan Beck, representing plaintiffs Todd Yukutake and David Kikukawa, filed a letter with the Ninth Circuit challenging Hawaii's attorney's claims about the Attorney General's role in the legislative changes. The case, which challenges Hawaii's handgun permit timeline and in-person inspection requirement, saw a federal district court and then the Ninth Circuit in 2025 strike down the laws as unconstitutional.