Attorney Alan Beck

05/22/2026

Today, I filed a motion for leave to file and a supplemental brief at the U.S. Supreme Court in Wolford v. Lopez. The good people at Cooper & Kirk have been busy beavers. Since oral argument, they've prevailed in both the Second Circuit and Fourth Circuit against two laws virtually identical to the one I'm challenging at the Supreme Court. Unlike at the appellate level where you can file a letter to inform a court of new authority, in the Supreme Court in order to inform the court of new authority you need to draft a full brief, get it printed and have it delivered to the the court. I filed one at the cert stage and only was required to file a brief. I reviewed the rules for the merits stage and found out that unlike at the cert stage, you are required to file a motion for leave to file alongside the supplemental brief. I know that's a small procedural point but it was something new for me. Point is, I've learned a lot doing this Supreme Court case and I'm trying to enjoy my Supreme Court experience as much as possible. 4 years ago, I thought the summary disposition I received in Young v. Hawaii would be my only experience at the Supreme Court. I feel really lucky I've gotten a chance to get the full experience of merits briefing and argument. I'm really looking forward to receiving an opinion next month. Below is a link to the brief.

05/21/2026

In 2025, there was a total of 3,764 people in Hawaiʻi with active LTCs.
The totals for each island were the following:

Oʻahu: 2,576
Hawaiʻi Island: 656
Maui: 239
Kauaʻi: 293

That is .34% of the population. This is better than a few years ago when I personally knew most of the LTC holders in Hawaii. That said, we need to get these numbers up. On average, 8% of the United States has a concealed carry permit. That despite half the country being constitutional carry. Its your choice and you shouldn't feel pressured to get a concealed carry permit but if you want one just remember its your right.

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2026/05/21/statewide-concealed-carry-licenses-climb-hawaii/?

All four counties saw increases, with the largest in the City and County of Honolulu (up 90.0%) and the smallest in Kauai County (up 20.6%).

05/20/2026

As of today, in a Second Amendment case I have in D.C., it has been 17 months since the completion of briefing and the trial court still has not ruled on a pending motion. If I was in charge of the federal court system, I would give courts time limits on how long they have to issue decisions. Delays at the federal appellate level are a little more understandable because the authoring judge has to make revisions and go back and forth with the other judges to get them to sign on. At the trial court level, that is not at issue. One thing I appreciate about our federal court in Hawaii is that win or lose, it always strives to issue an opinion within a couple months.

05/18/2026

Today the Second Amendment Foundation received a ruling in their challenge to New York's private property default rule (sign rule) and parks ban. The Second Circuit struck down New York's private property default rule but upheld the park ban.

https://assets.nationbuilder.com/fi****mspolicycoalition/pages/6597/attachments/original/1779111420/2026.05.18_072-1_OPINION.pdf?1779111420&fbclid=IwY2xjawR3-t5leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFrY095SXFISlZPNFptTjZDc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHt4oaJo24KppB0FQA4v9Lb3F0gxIO6cfuQbJnxrPmv4tnBbVMcLqqplWtv8S_aem_YWdncwDOYIE1bncRnaXMibtrG83P&brid=YWdncwHaY86xdv7MUT-htviGRe6o

05/18/2026

The Great Second Amendment Scholar and Chief Counsel for the ATF Robert Leider went on the Reload to discuss the ATF's new rules

This week, we're speaking directly to the Bureau of Alcohol, To***co, Fi****ms, and Explosives (ATF).The bureau just released dozens of new gun rule proposal...

05/15/2026

A couple months ago my clients informed me that they had been denied entry onto a Honolulu bus because they were transporting a firearm in a locked container. The bus driver pointed to the no guns sign that was posted on that and every other bus in Honolulu County. I realized these and other no guns signs were in violation of both Honolulu's own ordinances and the California portion of the ruling we received in Wolford. In the California case which was joined with Wolford, the Ninth Circuit held that the government cannot ban the transport of fi****ms on public transportation. I contacted the Honolulu Corporate Counsel and discussed my concerns with them. They agreed to remove the signs. Its been a few weeks since we completed negotiations and true to its word, Honolulu has begun to remove the signs. I'm proud of the work I've done in Hawaii. After 15 years, dozens of lawsuits which I've primarily done at no fee to my clients, and many negotiations like this one which I have done out of my own pocket, I am a lot closer to the end of what I can do for Hawaii than the beginning. However, there is still a lot to be done. I feel like I'm in the process of landing a plane right now and I want to land the plane right.

05/15/2026

Today, a friend of mind mentioned they had gotten into a car accident. I was a little miffed they hadn't called me earlier. They responded, I didn't know you did personal injury. I work with several personal injury firms in California. I just don't post about it because I doubt my readers are interested in hearing about my recent slip and fall victories. Maybe I should. If you live in California or Hawaii and have gotten hurt in a car accident, slip and fall, dog bite or any other type of personal injury case please think of me. That includes injuries which occured on Indian Reservations. I'm not just a constitutional law attorney. And in a way, signing with me in a personal injury case, indirectly supports your Second Amendment rights.

05/15/2026

So it begins. Every gun rights group is going to be filing lawsuits in Virginia due to the recently signed gun control bills.

Today, the National Rifle Association announced the filing of a state lawsuit challenging Virginia’s newly enacted bans on “assault fi****ms” and magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds.

05/14/2026

As an Asian American, I am glad to see the Department of Justice addressing this issue. From Harmeet Dhillon's twitter.

"At Yale Medical School, a black applicant is 29 times more likely to be invited to interview than an Asian with equally strong academics."
https://x.com/AAGDhillon/status/2054978751524401596

That is shocking statistic. 29 times is not giving a helping hand based on past inequity. 29 times is saying one race is disfavored over another. More to the point, my family were refugees in the 1970s from South Vietnam. When they settled in Hawaii and California they did so with nothing. What inequality did they participate in? Millions of Asian Americans have similar stories. I'm glad the Department of Justice is doing something to even the playing field.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has completed a year-long investigation into the admissions policies and practices at the Yale School of Medicine.

05/14/2026

As a response to my lawsuit Teter v Lopez, two years ago Hawaii legalized the ownership of butterfly knives and switchblades. And it legalized the carry of all melee weapons such as traditional native Hawaiian weapons, swords and spears.

Two years ago today, Hawaiʻi’s weapons carry laws changed in a major way.

For the first time in modern state history, law-abiding adults were broadly allowed to openly carry non-firearm weapons in public. While much of the public discussion focused on fi****ms at the time, this change also expanded the legal ability to openly carry items such as knives and other lawful defensive tools.

Despite many predictions of chaos, the last two years have largely shown what we already knew: responsible citizens exercising their rights are not the problem. Hawaiʻi residents have continued to go about their daily lives peacefully, while the sky failed to fall.

As always, we encourage everyone to understand the law, act responsibly, and continue promoting safe and lawful carry practices across Hawaiʻi.

— Hawaii Fi****ms Coalition