The Wire · CalGunHub

Ninth Circuit grants en banc rehearing in Yukutake v. Lopez

Published July 28, 2025 · Updated October 12, 2026

The court vacated its March 2025 panel opinion on Hawaii's handgun permit rules and reheard the case en banc.

Written by the CalGunHub desk from public reporting

Who this affects: Granting rehearing erased the panel decision that had invalidated Hawaii's permit rules. The eventual en banc ruling upheld those laws, and it removed the hold on Richards v. Bonta, California's waiting-period challenge, which is now being revisited in district court. This is general information, not legal advice.

On July 28, 2025, the Ninth Circuit granted rehearing en banc in Yukutake v. Lopez, No. 21-16756, in an order reported at 144 F.4th 1119 (2025). A majority of nonrecused active judges voted to rehear the case, and the order vacated the March 14, 2025 panel opinion, which had held Hawaii's 30-day handgun permit validity limit and in-person inspection requirement facially unconstitutional, according to the order and Courthouse News Service reporting. The vacatur meant the panel ruling no longer had effect while the full court reconsidered the case. On September 22, 2026, the en banc court issued its decision, holding 6-5 that both Hawaii requirements are constitutional, reversing the district court's injunction, and remanding, according to the en banc opinion. The en banc outcome was also the trigger California litigants were watching: the San Diego federal court hearing Richards v. Bonta, the challenge to California's 10-day waiting period, had stayed that case pending this decision. As of October 12, 2026, the en banc ruling stands.

Informational only, not legal advice. Facts are attributed to the sources listed above.