Supreme Court strikes down Hawaii's 'vampire rule' for gun owners

Source: NBC News

June 25, 2026, 10:09 AM EDT / Updated June 25, 2026, 10:41 AM EDT


WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a Hawaii gun restriction that limits when people can carry firearms on certain private properties open to the public, saying it infringes on the right to bear arms.

On a 6-3 vote, the court invalidated the measure that requires people with concealed carry permits to seek permission from a property owner before entering. It has been dubbed the "vampire rule" because, as in the classic novel "Dracula" and related tales, vampires can only enter someone's home if they are invited in.

The court, often supportive of gun rights, concluded that the provision violates the Constitution's Second Amendment. The court’s conservatives were in the majority, while the three liberals dissented. “The effect of this new rule is to impose severe restrictions on the daily activities of residents who have satisfied the state’s rigorous requirements for the issuance of a carry permit,” conservative Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the court.

“This regime hobbles what the Second Amendment protects: the right of Americans to carry arms for self-defense as they go about their daily lives,” he added. In dissent, liberal Justice Elena Kagan said she would have upheld the law because it is a “modern-day analogue of colonial and founding era laws that similarly prohibited carrying firearms onto private property without the owner’s affirmative consent.”

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-strikes-hawaiis-vampire-rule-gun-owners-rcna261385