Court Expands Gun Rights

The Supreme Court struck down Hawaii’s so-called “vampire rule” in Wolford v. Lopez, ruling 6-3 that the state violated the Second Amendment by barring licensed concealed-carry holders from bringing firearms onto privately owned property open to the public unless owners gave explicit permission. Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the conservative majority, which said Hawaii’s default ban covered stores, hotels, malls, gas stations and other public-facing businesses in a way that infringed the right to bear arms. The ruling leaves property owners free to prohibit guns on their premises, but shifts the default so permit holders may carry unless an owner posts or otherwise communicates a ban. The decision extends the court’s recent expansion of gun rights after Bruen and threatens similar laws in states including California, New York, New Jersey and Maryland, while the three liberal justices dissented.