The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a Hawaii law that required individuals to obtain permission before carrying guns into private businesses and hotels. The 6-3 decision affirms that people may carry firearms onto privately owned property, such as shopping malls and gas stations, unless the property owners explicitly ban guns.
This ruling marks the latest instance of the high court siding with Second Amendment rights. The decision was supported by President Donald Trump's administration, which contended that the Hawaii law infringed upon constitutional protections. The measure, sometimes called a “vampire rule,” required individuals with guns to seek explicit permission to enter private establishments.
Hawaii had argued that the 2023 law allowed private property owners to control the presence of firearms on their premises. The state enacted the law following a 2022 Supreme Court ruling that established a broad right for most individuals to carry guns in public.
Approximately four other states have implemented similar legislation. However, presumptive restrictions on firearms on private property open to the public have faced legal challenges and blocks in other jurisdictions.
The case before the Supreme Court did not address Hawaii's separate restrictions on guns in locations like parks, beaches, and restaurants serving alcohol, though these rules are being contested in lower courts. The lawsuit was initiated by a gun rights organization and three individuals from Maui. An initial injunction against the law was later overturned by an appeals court, leading to the Supreme Court appeal backed by the Trump administration.
This gun-related case is one of two on the court's docket this term. The other addresses whether individuals who regularly use marijuana or other drugs can legally possess firearms. These cases follow a series of gun-related legal challenges prompted by the Supreme Court's 2022 decision. In subsequent rulings, the justices have invalidated a ban on bump stocks, gun accessories that increase firing speed, but have upheld a federal law protecting victims of domestic violence and regulations on untraceable "ghost guns."