US Supreme Court strikes down Hawaii gun permission law for businesses

The US Supreme Court struck down Hawaii's rule requiring prior permission to carry guns into private businesses open to the public. The ruling strengthens Second Amendment claims and leaves owners to ban firearms only through clear notice.

In Short

• The 6-3 ruling continues the court's recent expansion of gun rights
• Hawaii passed the 2023 measure after more permits followed the 2022 ruling
• The law was nicknamed vampire rule because carriers needed prior invitation

The US Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a Hawaii law that required people to get permission before carrying guns into private businesses such as shops and hotels. In a 6-3 ruling, the court said people can carry firearms onto privately owned property open to the public unless the owner has clearly said guns are not allowed.

The decision is the latest from the court backing Second Amendment rights. It also comes soon after the court held that marijuana users cannot be completely barred from owning firearms, marking another significant ruling in a series of gun cases after the court's 2022 decision expanding the right to carry guns in public.

The ruling is a win for President Donald Trump's Republican administration, which had argued that the Hawaii law violated the Second Amendment. The measure, passed in 2023, was sometimes called a "vampire rule" because it required people carrying guns to get permission before entering private property, much like the idea in vampire folklore that they need an invitation to enter a home.

Hawaii had defended the law by saying it allowed private property owners to decide whether they wanted firearms on their premises. The state enacted it after thousands more people received legal permission to carry guns following the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling that said most people have a right to carry firearms in public.

About four other states have passed similar laws, though similar default restrictions on carrying guns onto private property open to the public have also been blocked elsewhere. Hawaii separately restricts guns in places such as parks, beaches and restaurants that serve alcohol, but those rules were not part of this case. They are, however, being challenged in lower courts.

The case before the Supreme Court was brought by a gun rights group and three people from Maui. A judge had first blocked the law, but an appeals court later allowed it to take effect. Trump's administration then supported the appeal before the top court.

This is one of two gun cases before the Supreme Court in its current term. The other concerns whether people who regularly use marijuana and other drugs can legally own guns.

The case is the latest in a string of firearms disputes to reach the court since its 2022 ruling triggered challenges to gun restrictions across the US. Since then, the justices have struck down a ban on bump stocks, while upholding a federal gun law aimed at protecting domestic violence victims and strict rules on so-called ghost guns, which are very difficult to trace. Overall, Thursday's ruling removes Hawaii's requirement for prior permission and leaves private owners to ban guns only if they state it explicitly.

With PTI Inputs

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