SCOTUS Seems Inclined To Reject Hawaii's Default Rule Against Guns on Private Property Open to the PublicThe state requires carry permit holders to obtain advance permission before bringing firearms into businesses.
Jacob Sullum | 1.20.2026
After the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, several states had to repeal laws requiring that residents demonstrate a "special need" before they were allowed to carry guns in public for self-defense. But even as they made carry permits easier to obtain, legislators made them much harder to use by restricting the locations where people could legally possess firearms. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court weighed the constitutionality of a variation on that theme: a Hawaii law that bans guns from private property open to the public unless the owner has explicitly allowed them.
Three justices—Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson—were clearly inclined to uphold that law. But the rest of the Court seemed skeptical that it can pass muster under the Second Amendment.
Under Hawaii's law, carry permit holders who bring guns onto private property are committing a crime unless the owner has given his consent via "clear and conspicuous signage" or "unambiguous written or verbal authorization." That rule, the gun owners who challenged the law note, vastly complicates their ability to carry firearms for self-defense. In the absence of "clear and conspicuous signage," they must seek advance permission whenever they visit businesses such as grocery stores, gas stations, or restaurants.
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Source:
https://reason.com/2026/01/20/scotus-seems-inclined-to-reject-hawaiis-default-rule-against-guns-on-private-property-open-to-the-public/
