Hawaii Supreme Court: 'Spirit of Aloha' Trumps the Constitution

Hawaii’s Supreme Court refused to follow U.S. Supreme Court precedent on gun rights in an opinion released on Wednesday, declaring that “the spirit of Aloha clashes” with the Second Amendment, which guarantees Americans an individual right to bear arms. ...

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Its decision was based on the Court’s interpretation of Article I, Section 17 of Hawaii’s constitution, which “mirrors the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution.”

“We read those words differently than the current United States Supreme Court. We hold that in Hawai’i there is no state constitutional right to carry a firearm in public,” began the Court at the top of its opinion before going on to assert that “the spirit of Aloha clashes with a federally-mandated lifestyle that lets citizens walk around with deadly weapons during day-to-day activities.”

Ed Morrissey

Yeah, well. In Constitutional terms, the "Spirit of Aloha" and five bucks can get you a grande latte at Starbucks. This is an absolutely absurd argument, and it will get shredded by the Supreme Court, which will remind Hawaii's clowns in robes that the US Constitution supersedes state constitutions, as well as "spirits." 

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