LISTEN LIVE: Supreme Court hears case on law banning guns from private ownership

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii’s gun laws, long among the nation’s strictest, will be the focus of arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday. The court addresses the state’s ban on firearms on private property open to the public, such as stores and hotels, unless the owner expressly allows it.

The hearing is scheduled to begin Tuesday at 10 a.m. EST. Listen live in the player above.

Here’s what you should know about the case:

Prohibited on beaches, bars and private property

Three Maui residents filed a lawsuit in 2023 challenging new laws prohibiting carrying weapons in places such as beaches, banks, bars and restaurants that serve alcohol.

The plaintiffs argue that Hawaii violates people’s Second Amendment rights. They say they want to protect themselves on isolated beaches, and many property owners do not post “Weapons Allowed” signs for fear of scaring away customers.

Carrying weapons in public is still fairly new in Hawaii. Before the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision expanding gun rights nationwide, the state’s county sheriffs made it nearly impossible by rarely issuing permits for either open or concealed carry.

This ruling prompted Hawaii to rewrite its laws, and Democratic Governor Josh Green signed legislation allowing more people to carry concealed firearms while limiting the places where they can be carried.

The Supreme Court only considers one aspect of the restrictions

A federal judge in Honolulu blocked the restrictions, and the state appealed.

In 2024, a three-judge appeals court panel overturned most of the judge’s ruling, saying the state could ban firearms on beaches, parks, bars and restaurants that serve alcohol, and on private property without the owner’s consent.

The plaintiffs appealed to the Supreme Court, which agreed to decide only one issue: the default rule that guns may not be carried on private property open to the public unless the owner gives verbal permission or posts a sign saying it is permitted.

Their attorney, Alan Beck, has led numerous appeals of firearm restrictions over the years, though this will be his first time arguing before the Supreme Court.

“I think this is a good opportunity to highlight Hawaii to the rest of the nation,” Beck said. “A lot of times Hawaii isn’t part of the national conversation…because it’s such an isolated place in the Pacific.”

The right to self-defense versus the right to keep weapons off private property

If the default rule on private property could apply, Beck said, “the Second Amendment right to bear firearms for self-defense would be effectively eviscerated.”

He noted that the case involves statements from Maui business owners who want to welcome gun owners but do not want to put up signs, in part because tourists from Asia and Europe are unaccustomed to the general public carrying firearms.

The restriction on private property “is built on the courtesy we all grew up with: Don’t walk into someone else’s home or local store with a gun unless you know for a fact that you’re welcome to do so,” said Chris Marvin, a Hawaii resident and gun violence prevention expert with Everytown for Gun Safety.

Mixed tradition regarding gun ownership

Along with some of the strictest gun laws in the country, Hawaii has some of the lowest rates of gun violence.

But Beck said it’s a misconception that state residents hate guns.

“Hawaii, especially in the outer islands, has a vibrant hunting culture that respects firearms as much as any mainland state,” Peck said.

The 2022 Supreme Court ruling concluded that people have a constitutional right to carry firearms openly and that restrictive measures must be consistent with the state’s historical tradition of regulating firearms.

In its submissions to the Supreme Court, Hawaii notes that long before it became a state, during the Kingdom of Hawaii, King Kamehameha III prohibited people from possessing deadly weapons, and subsequent laws maintained strict restrictions on firearms.

“And what is the American historical tradition? Well, it’s a mixture of many cultures,” said Billy Clark, a senior staff attorney at the Giffords Law Center, who filed a brief supporting Hawaii in the case. “For me, a proper investigation into historical traditions would take into account all the cultures that came together to create America.”

Peck disagreed, saying, “Property laws that predate the United States are not part of our American tradition of constitutional rights.”