Supreme Court appears likely to strike down California law banning guns in stores and restaurants
WASHINGTON— Do licensed gun owners have the right to carry a loaded gun into public stores, restaurants and other private venues?
California and Hawaii are among five states with new laws banning the carrying of firearms on private property without the permission of the owner or handler. But the Trump administration joined gun rights advocates on Tuesday. We call on the Supreme Court to strike down these laws Unconstitutional under the 2nd Amendment.
Trump’s lawyers said such a law “effectively invalidates his license to carry a gun in public.”
“If you stop at a petrol station you are committing a criminal offence,” Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris told the court.
An attorney representing Hawaii said the issue is one of property rights, not gun rights.
“An invitation to shop is not an invitation to bring your Glock,” Washington attorney Neal Katyal told the court. “There is no constitutional right to enter property that includes the right to bring a firearm.”
The justices appeared divided along the usual ideological lines, with conservatives on the court signaling they would likely strike down new laws in five Democratic-led states.
“You are relegating the 2nd Amendment to second-class status,” Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. told Katyal.
He said the court ruled that law-abiding people have the right to carry firearms for self-defense when leaving home. This includes going to public stores or businesses.
“If the owners don’t like the guns, why don’t they put up a sign?” Alito said.
Both sides agreed that business owners are generally free to allow or ban guns on their properties. But state officials said the laws are important because business owners rarely post signs welcoming or prohibiting gun carrying.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said the 2nd Amendment should have the same status as the 1st Amendment.
He said it is understood that under the 1st Amendment a political candidate can enter a home and knock on the door or leave a pamphlet. He questioned why the court should uphold a law that restricts gun owners from entering public places.
Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh also said they believed the “right to keep and bear arms” includes the right to bear arms, including to enter stores.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson said property rights should trump gun rights.
“Does he have the right to enter private property with a gun?” Sotomayor asked repeatedly. He said the court has never supported such a broad right.
But none of the conservatives agreed with that view, except for Judge Amy Coney Barrett.
Four years ago, the court ruled that law-abiding gun owners have the right to carry a concealed weapon for self-defense when leaving home. They later also said guns could be banned in “sensitive locations” but could not decide what that meant.
Following this decision, California, Hawaii, New York, New Jersey and Maryland passed new laws restricting the carrying of guns in public places, including parks and beaches.
The law also states that gun owners cannot take a gun into a privately owned business without the “express permission” of the owner or manager. California law goes a step further and says the gun owner must post a clear sign allowing the gun.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Hawaii and California laws except that a sign must be posted in California.
Three Hawaii residents with concealed carry permits appealed to the Supreme Court and won the support of the Trump administration.
