The U.S. Supreme Court is examining a case on Tuesday regarding whether states can enforce restrictions on carrying firearms on private property accessible to the public without the property owner’s explicit consent, Baltimore Chronicle, via ABC News. The case centers on Hawaii’s law and similar measures in California, Maryland, New York, and New Jersey, which establish a “default rule” that generally prohibits handgun possession in private spaces where the public can gather unless the property owner provides explicit permission.
The locations affected include businesses such as retail stores, shopping centers, restaurants, bars, theaters, sports arenas, farms, and private beaches. Public spaces, which are subject to different regulations, are not included in this case. The law in Hawaii is challenged by three Maui residents who argue it significantly restricts their ability to carry firearms for self-defense in everyday situations.
“This law is extremely restrictive. It bans public carry in 96.4% of the publicly available land in the County of Maui,” said Alan Beck, attorney representing the plaintiffs, members of the Hawaii Firearms Coalition. “They want to carry a firearm when withdrawing cash late at night or when visiting a restaurant. Under current rules, they cannot carry in private businesses open to the public unless a sign explicitly allows it.”
Beck explained that while property owners retain the right to exclude firearms from their premises, the responsibility should lie with owners to communicate their preferences. In contrast to Hawaii, 45 other states allow licensed handgun owners to assume they may carry on private property open to the public unless the owner expressly forbids it through verbal instructions or posted signage.
Hawaii officials, however, maintain that the law safeguards property owners’ rights to prohibit firearms without extra procedural steps. “At no point in the nation’s history has there been a recognized right to bring guns onto private property without the owner’s consent,” said Douglas Letter, chief legal officer at Brady, a gun safety organization. “Hawaii’s law is reasonable. Visitors simply need permission from property owners to carry firearms on private premises.”
The Supreme Court will evaluate Hawaii’s statute under the framework established in the 2022 landmark decision, authored by Justice Clarence Thomas. The ruling emphasized that gun regulations are valid only if they align with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. Hawaii points to historical laws from 1771 in New Jersey and 1865 in Louisiana that imposed similar property restrictions, asserting these serve as historical precedents for the current law.
Plaintiffs argue these historical examples are outliers and not representative of standard national practices. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Hawaii’s law, stating that a national tradition likely exists allowing property owners to prohibit firearm possession without consent. Plaintiffs’ attorneys Beck and Kevin O’Grady anticipate that the Supreme Court may overturn the lower court’s ruling in their favor.
A decision in this case is anticipated by the end of June.
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