WASHINGTON, June 25 (DC Times Online) — The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down Hawaii’s law requiring concealed-carry permit holders to get a property owner’s permission before entering certain privately owned places open to the public, voiding the state’s so-called “vampire rule” in a 6-3 decision.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority in Wolford v. Lopez that Hawaii’s law “violates the constitutional right to keep and bear arms.” The court said the rule conflicted with the Second Amendment, and three liberal justices dissented.
The ruling adds to a line of major gun-rights decisions from the court. In District of Columbia v. Heller in 2008, the justices struck down Washington, D.C.’s handgun ban, and in McDonald v. City of Chicago in 2010, the court said the Second Amendment applies to state and local governments.
NBC News reported that challengers said Hawaii’s rule also conflicted with a 2022 Supreme Court decision that recognized a right to carry firearms in public.
