The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a Hawaii law that required individuals to obtain permission before carrying guns into private establishments like stores and hotels. The 6-3 decision reaffirms Second Amendment rights, allowing people to carry firearms onto privately owned property unless business owners specifically prohibit it.
This ruling follows a 2022 Supreme Court decision that expanded the right to carry guns in public. Hawaii had enacted the measure in 2023, arguing it would allow private property owners to decide whether firearms were allowed on their premises. The state also maintains restrictions on guns in places such as parks, beaches, and restaurants serving alcohol, though these were not part of the current legal challenge and are being contested in lower courts.
The lawsuit leading to this decision was initiated by a gun rights group and three individuals from Maui. An initial block on the law by a lower court was later overturned by an appeals court, allowing it to be enforced until the Supreme Court's intervention.
The Trump administration had supported the Supreme Court appeal against the Hawaii law, which was sometimes colloquially referred to as a "vampire rule" due to its requirement for an "invitation" to carry a firearm onto private property. This case is one of two gun-related matters the Supreme Court has considered this term, with the other addressing whether marijuana users can legally possess firearms. These cases represent the latest in a series of legal challenges to firearm restrictions nationwide since the 2022 ruling.