WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court struck down a Hawaii law requiring people to get permission to carry guns into stores and hotels on Thursday, in its latest opinion backing Second Amendment rights.
The high court's 6-3 decision means people can carry guns onto privately owned property like shopping malls and gas stations, unless the owners specifically say guns are banned at their establishments. It comes shortly after the court found that marijuana users can't be completely banned from owning firearms.
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FILE - People are seen on the beach and in the water in front of the Kahala Hotel & Resort in Honolulu, Nov. 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, File)
FILE - People walk past a gun club in Honolulu, June, 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia, File)
FILE - People walk past the Waikiki Gun Club, Thursday, June, 23, 2022 in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)
FILE - The Supreme Court is seen in Washington, May 18, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
It's a win for President Donald Trump's Republican administration, which argued the law violates the Second Amendment. The measure was sometimes referred to as a “vampire rule" because it required people with guns get permission to enter, like vampire lore says bloodsuckers need an invitation to enter a home.
Hawaii argued that the 2023 measure ensured private owners could decide whether they wanted firearms on their property. The state passed the law as thousands more people got legal permission to carry guns in the wake of a 2022 Supreme Court ruling that found the Second Amendment gives most people the right to have guns in public.
About four other states have enacted similar laws, though presumptive restrictions for guns on private property open to the public have also been blocked elsewhere.
Hawaii also restricts guns in places like parks, beaches and restaurants that serve alcohol, but those rules weren't before the court. They are being challenged in lower courts, however.
The suit before the Supreme Court was filed by a gun rights group, the Hawaii Firearms Coalition, and three people from Maui. A judge originally blocked the measure, but an appeals court allowed it to be enforced. Trump's Republican administration backed the Supreme Court appeal.
The Second Amendment Foundation applauded the ruling. “This law was nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to disarm peaceable citizens, and we’re grateful the Supreme Court saw through the ruse," said Alan Gottlieb, its founder and executive vice president.
The gun-control group Everytown Law called the decision disappointing but pointed out that business owners can still post signs forbidding firearms on their properties. “The Supreme Court may have changed the default rule, but it cannot take away a private property owner’s authority over their own land," said Janet Carter, managing director of Second Amendment Litigation
The two Second Amendment decisions this term are the latest in a series of gun cases that have come before the Supreme Court in the wake of its 2022 ruling that led to a flood of challenges to firearm restrictions around the country. The justices have since struck down a ban on bump stocks, gun accessories that enable rapid firing, but upheld a federal gun law intended to protect domestic violence victims as well as strict regulations on firearms known as ghost guns, which are nearly impossible to trace.
Follow the AP's coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.
FILE - People are seen on the beach and in the water in front of the Kahala Hotel & Resort in Honolulu, Nov. 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, File)
FILE - People walk past a gun club in Honolulu, June, 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia, File)
FILE - People walk past the Waikiki Gun Club, Thursday, June, 23, 2022 in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)
FILE - The Supreme Court is seen in Washington, May 18, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
