With the conservative majority’s Second Amendment test requiring states to justify gun measures with historical analogues, Hawaii and other states have turned to the Black Codes to justify gun control efforts. At Tuesday’s arguments, Justice Neil Gorsuch and other conservative justices appeared reluctant to credit them given their racist origins. Hawaii points to anti-poaching laws enacted near the nation’s founding and gun restrictions Louisiana passed in 1865 as part of its Black Codes. They wanted to put them at the mercy of racist law enforcement officers,” Justice Samuel Alito said. Zach SchonfeldJanuary 20, 2026Conservative justices reluctant to credit Black Codes in Hawaii gun law case