US supreme court to hear challenge to Hawaii’s strict gun law

Hawaii, which has some of the strictest gun laws in the United States, will see its regulations challenged before the supreme court on Tuesday.

The court will consider the legality of the state’s law that bans people from bringing firearms on private property open to the public unless they have permission from the property owner.

The case, Wolford v Lopez, was brought by three Maui residents with concealed-carry permits and a local gun group.

In 2022, the supreme court ruled in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v Bruen that the second amendment included the right to carry concealed and loaded handguns in public. Before the ruling, Hawaii’s county police chiefs had only issued six permits to publicly carry a gun in 21 years, according to Hawaii Public Radio.

After the ruling, the state passed a law allowing more people to carry concealed firearms, but banning the practice at so-called “sensitive places” like beaches, banks and restaurants serving alcohol.

The three Maui residents and gun group sued, arguing the law violated their second amendment right to bear arms. A federal judge in Hawaii issued a temporary restraining order that blocked the state from enforcing parts of the law, writing that the state had not “established a factual basis for the public safety concerns regarding permit-carrying gun owners who wish to exercise their Second Amendment right to carry a firearm in public”.

An appeals court reversed parts of that decision, stating that Hawaii could not ban firearms in banks and some parking lots but could impose restrictions at bars and restaurants that serve alcohol, beaches and parks.

“We conclude that some – but not all – of the places specified by [such] laws likely fall within the national tradition of prohibiting firearms at sensitive places,” the appeals court opinion stated.

In defending the law, Hawaii told the supreme court justices that the restrictions were designed to “vindicate both the right to bear arms and property owners’ undisputed right to choose whether to permit armed entry onto their property”.

The plaintiffs argue that the state was “attempting to thwart constitutional rights newly recognized in Bruen”.

The supreme court decided to hear the case, but is only considering one aspect: the default rule that guns cannot be carried on private property open to the public unless the owner gives verbal permission or posts a sign saying they are allowed. California, Maryland, New York and New Jersey have similar laws, according to Scotusblog.

Conservatives hold a six-three majority on the supreme court, which makes it more likely that they will overturn the Hawaii ban.

Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control group, ranks Hawaii sixth among states in terms of the strictness of its gun laws. The state also has the fifth lowest rate of deaths from firearms, according to 2023 CDC data.