Do private property owners have the right to decide whether they want guns on their private property? That’s the question the Supreme Court is currently deciding. It’s a case about whether states can limit firearms on private property that’s open to the public without first receiving the property owner’s consent.
At the heart of this case is Hawaii, but at least four other states, including California, Maryland, New York, and New Jersey, have similar laws.
State lawmakers have set strict “default rules” that prohibit the possession of handguns in privately-owned places where members of the public might gather, unless the owner explicitly gives permission, ABC News reports.
“This law is extremely restrictive. It bans public carry in 96.4% of the publicly available land in the County of Maui,” Alan Beck, an attorney for three Maui residents and members of the Hawaii Firearms Coalition who are challenging the law, told the outlet.
He adds, “They’d like to carry dropping off money at the ATM late at night or just going to have lunch at a restaurant. They are unable to carry on any private business that is open to the public, that is unwilling to put up a sign saying ‘guns ‘allowed.’”
Gun Laws In Other States
In the 45 other states, lawmakers allow handgun owners to presume that they can legally carry weapons onto private property that is open to the public, unless the owner explicitly says otherwise with verbal instructions or by posting a sign.
Gun control groups say this is more of a property rights case, not a Second Amendment dispute. Advocates argue that it has been a longstanding tradition in the United States to allow property owners to set rules for their property.
However, challengers say it’s unconstitutional for Hawaii to impose “default” rules that prohibit firearms in privately owned public spaces. They argue that the laws would mean that gunowners would have to presume that guns are banned in most public spaces.
Hawaii leaders are pushing back. They argue that there has never been a “right to armed entry onto private property without consent.” They say the law is meant to protect the property owners’ right to exclude guns.
But it also appears that the six conservative Supreme Court justices are expressing skepticism about Hawaii’s gun laws, CNN reports.
Justice Samuel Alito said Hawaii’s defense of the law is “relegating the Second Amendment to second-class status.”
A decision in this case is expected by June.
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