US supreme court strikes down Hawaii’s gun restrictions in major second amendment ruling

The US supreme court struck down a restrictive gun law in the state of Hawaii that bans people from carrying guns in certain public spaces and on private property without the permission of the property’s owner. At issue was a 2023 state law that barred carrying a firearm on private property without the owner’s approval and created a list of more than a dozen “sensitive places” where guns cannot be carried, such as beaches and restaurants that serve alcohol. The case was brought by three Maui residents who were permitted to carry concealed firearms and the Hawaii firearms coalition. They argued that Hawaii’s policy violates their second amendment rights and does not meet the precedent set by a watershed 2022 Bruen v New York decision that requires gun laws to be “consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation”. The plaintiffs also argued that law enforcement’s definition of “sensitive places” was far too broad and virtually included “all places of public congregation”, according to the complaint the plaintiffs filed against Hawaii’s attorney general. The case was the latest to be brought before the court based on the precedent set by Bruen, which still has the potential to void many state restrictions like carrying firearms in public, or lifetime bans for people convicted of violent and non-violent crimes alike. …