Gun Rights Attorney Reminds Sonia Sotomayor Hawaii Is Part Of United States

A gun rights attorney reminded Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Tuesday that Hawaii is part of the United States, meaning it can’t defy the Second Amendment.

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday on a challenge to a Hawaii law banning firearms on private property without the express consent of the owner.

Sotomayor said she’s “never seen” a constitutional right to carry a gun on private property.

There was not a custom of carrying firearms in Hawaii for 200 years, Sotomayor noted, highlighting how 78% of residents and 64% of Hawaii gun owners don’t think loaded concealed weapons should be allowed into businesses.

“Hawaii is part of the United States,” gun rights advocate attorney Alan Beck replied. “As part of the United States, our national tradition is that people are allowed to carry on private property that is open to the public.”

Hawaii passed the law in response to the Supreme Court’s 2022 New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen decision, where the majority held New York concealed carry restrictions unconstitutional. Five states have enacted laws like Hawaii’s since the decision, according to Neal Katyal, who represented the Hawaii Attorney General.

“Everyone agrees there is a right to carry on private property if the owner wants guns on his property,” Katyal told the justices. “And everyone also agrees there is no such right if the owner doesn’t want guns. The only question is if there is a Second Amendment right to assume the owner wants guns on his property when he has been silent. There is not.”

Justice John Roberts pressed Katyal to address concerns his position treats the Second Amendment as a “disfavored right,” noting a political candidate would have a clear First Amendment right to walk up to a door and ask for their vote.

“You’re saying it’s different when it comes to the Second Amendment,” he said. “What exactly is the basis of the distinction?”

Other conservative justices, including Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, shared concerns that Hawaii was placing limits on the Second Amendment that would not be placed on others in private spaces open to the public.

“You’re just relegating the Second Amendment to second-class status,” Alito said. “I don’t see how you can get away with that.”