The Supreme Court Just Killed Hawaii’s ‘Vampire Rule’ for Guns
If you wanted to carry a concealed gun into a grocery store in Hawaii, you used to need the owner's express permission first. The Supreme Court just called bullshit on that.
In Hawaii, they had this cute little workaround for concealed carry laws. Instead of outright banning guns in public-facing businesses, they passed a law saying you couldn't bring a licensed concealed firearm into places like gas stations, grocery stores, or restaurants unless the owner explicitly invited you to do so. In legal circles, people literally called it the 'vampire rule'—because, like Dracula, you couldn't cross the threshold armed without an invitation.
Well, the Supreme Court just put a stake through that one. In a 6-3 decision, the conservative majority ruled that licensed gun owners do not need explicit permission to enter public-facing private properties with their weapons.
Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito pointed out that making people beg for permission at every single dry cleaner and coffee shop is a massive, unreasonable drag on law-abiding citizens who already jumped through all the hoops to get a carry permit in the first place.
On the other side of the bench, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was highly annoyed. She argued in her dissent that this isn't about gun control at all—it’s basic property law. If it's your shop, you should have the absolute right to decide who, and what, walks through the front door.
Turns out, in America, public-facing private property is apparently public enough for guns, but private enough for everything else.
Source: Supreme Court Opinion
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