Hawaii’s gun laws are set to face U.S. Supreme Court scrutiny Tuesday, as the court considers a narrow question about carrying firearms on private property open to the public.
The justices are taking up Hawaii’s ban on firearms on private property that is open to the public—such as stores and hotels—unless the owner explicitly allows it. The dispute has unfolded after Hawaii adopted new restrictions that, according to the plaintiffs, limit where people can carry guns in public.
In 2023, three Maui residents sued to challenge laws that prohibit carrying firearms at places including beaches, banks, bars and restaurants that serve alcohol. The plaintiffs argue the state’s approach infringes on people’s Second Amendment rights, saying they want to protect themselves at isolated beaches and noting that many property owners do not post “guns allowed” signs out of fear of scaring off customers.
Before a 2022 Supreme Court decision expanded gun rights nationwide, the AP reported that Hawaii county police chiefs made it “virtually impossible” for residents by rarely issuing permits for either open or concealed carry. After that ruling, Hawaii retooled its laws, and Democratic Gov. Josh Green signed legislation that allowed more people to carry concealed firearms while limiting where those guns could be carried.
The Supreme Court is considering only one aspect of the restrictions: 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 firearms are allowed. A federal judge in Honolulu blocked the restrictions, and the state appealed; in 2024, a three-judge appeals court panel reversed most of the judge’s ruling and said Hawaii could bar firearms on beaches and at parks, bars and restaurants that serve alcohol, as well as on private property without the owner’s consent. The plaintiffs then appealed to the Supreme Court.
The plaintiffs’ attorney Alan Beck has led numerous challenges to firearms restrictions over the years, and the AP reported this will be his first time arguing before the Supreme Court. Beck told the AP he wants to highlight Hawaii to the rest of the nation, saying: “I think this is a good opportunity to highlight Hawaii to the rest of the nation,” and that “A lot of times Hawaii doesn’t get to be part of the national conversation … because it’s an insular place off in the Pacific.”
Beck argued that if the private-property default rule is enforceable, the restriction would effectively gut Second Amendment rights. He said: “the Second Amendment right to carry firearms for self-defense will effectively be eviscerated,” and noted that the case includes declarations from Maui business owners who are willing to welcome gun carriers but do not want to put up signs, including because tourists from Asia and Europe are unaccustomed to the general public toting firearms.
Chris Marvin, a Hawaii resident and gun violence prevention expert with Everytown for Gun Safety, argued that private-property limits rely on a social norm of permission. She told the AP the restriction is “built upon the courtesy we all grew up with: You don’t walk into someone else’s home or a local mom-and-pop shop with a weapon unless you know for a fact that you’re welcome to do so.”
The AP reported that Hawaii has some of the lowest rates of gun violence, while also having gun laws described as among the strictest in the country. Beck said it is a misconception that Hawaii residents dislike guns, pointing instead to local hunting culture; he said: “Especially on the outer islands, Hawaii has a vibrant hunting culture that respects firearms just as much as any state on the mainland.”
The AP said the 2022 Supreme Court ruling found people have a constitutional right to carry in public and that restrictions must be consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. In briefs, Hawaii argued that before statehood, during the Hawaiian Kingdom, King Kamehameha III prohibited people from possessing deadly weapons and that subsequent laws maintained strict restrictions on firearms.
Billy Clark, a senior litigation attorney with Giffords Law Center, filed a brief supporting Hawaii and argued that historical tradition should be assessed across cultures. He told the AP: “To me a proper inquiry into historical tradition would consider all of the cultures that have come together to make America.” Beck disagreed, saying: “The laws of a monarchy that predates the United States is not part of our American tradition of constitutional rights.”