Sign with text reading No Firearms Allowed on this Property, with a handgun in a red crossed circle, indicating to concealed carry permit holders that carrying of firearms is restricted in a retail store in San Ramon, California, July 21, 2019. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
A group of gun owners in Maui are challenging those default rules, arguing the law improperly makes it a crime to bear arms even where the owner of property accessible to the public is merely silent. They refer to these laws as "vampire rules," a nod to the Dracula legend, who could not enter a room without being invited.
But Hawaii officials told the high court the restrictions balance gun and property rights, citing a long tradition in the Aloha State of limiting all kinds of dangerous weapons, dating back to when it was a monarchy.
The government said a gun-free environment should be the default presumption for Hawaii businesses, and no constitutional right exists to assume every invitation to enter private property includes an invitation to bring a gun.
Those conflicting positions on "implied consent" in retail establishments brought strong comments from the bench.
"You're just relegating the Second Amendment to second-class status," said Justice Samuel Alito. "I don't see how you can get away from that."
But Justice Sonia Sotomayor countered, "Is there a constitutional right to enter private property with a gun without an owner's express or implicit consent? The answer has to be simply no."
NRA SUES CALIFORNIA OVER BAN ON GLOCK-STYLE FIREARMS: 'VIOLATES THE SECOND AMENDMENT'
Light illuminates part of the Supreme Court building at dusk on Capitol Hill in Washington, Nov. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
"There's been a number of church shootings recently," said Sotomayor. "Does the state -- or the federal government, does it bar from saying you can't go into a church with a gun without the church owner's permission? Is that illegal?"
But Chief Justice Josh Roberts questioned how the Second Amendment should be treated when First Amendment rights of speech are also involved.
"It is a very clear constitutional right under the First Amendment if I, for example, as a candidate for office, want to walk up to your door on private property and knock on the door and say, here, you know, give me your vote, that's exercising a First Amendment right. But you say that it's different when it comes to the Second Amendment, that you when the candidate wants to walk up [and talk] and he's carrying a gun -- what exactly is the basis for the distinction?"
Gun rights have become a major focus at the Supreme Court this term. The justices in March will hear arguments in a challenge to federal limits on illegal drug users possessing firearms.
Hunter Biden, the former president’s son, had been convicted under that law, but was later pardoned by his father.
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And there are several separate pending appeals over federal bans on convicted non-violent felons owning guns, and state bans on high-capacity magazines and semi-automatic weapons like AR-15s.
The Hawaii petition is Wolford v. Lopez (HI AG) (24-1046). A ruling is expected by early summer.
Shannon Bream currently serves as anchor of FOX News Sunday. She joined the network in 2007 as a Washington D.C- based correspondent covering the Supreme Court.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gun-rights-private-property-debated-supreme-court