Hawaii
Supreme Court takes up gun owners’ challenge to ‘Vampire Rules’
The Supreme Court is deciding whether Hawaii can require gun owners to get permission before carrying a concealed gun onto private property open to the public, such as a store.
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WASHINGTON – In the 1897 Gothic horror novel by Bram Stoker, Dracula couldn’t enter a room without being invited.
In a Supreme Court case the justices will hear on Jan. 20, gun rights advocates charge Hawaii and other states with creating “Vampire Rules,” laws requiring gun owners to get permission – verbally, in writing or through a posted sign − before carrying a concealed firearm onto private property that’s open to the public, such as a store.
The default presumption, they argue, should be that handguns are permitted on publicly open private property unless the owner explicitly bans them.
Their challenge – which the Trump administration took the unusual step of encouraging the Supreme Court to hear before waiting for the court to ask for the government’s views − won’t require the justices to delve into 19th-century literature. But it will necessitate a review of laws from the colonial and Reconstruction eras.
That’s because the Supreme Court, in a landmark 2022 decision, said gun regulations have to be consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation to be constitutional.
Supreme Court expanded gun rights
The court’s 6-3 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen also significantly expanded the Second Amendment right to bear arms outside the home.
After the court struck down New York’s law restricting who can carry a gun in public, Hawaii – and several other Democrat-led states – focused instead on where the guns could be brought.
The Trump administration urged the Supreme Court to get involved, arguing those states − Hawaii, California, Maryland, New York and New Jersey − are doing an end-run to avoid complying with the court’s 2022 ruling.
“Because most owners do not post signs either allowing or forbidding guns – and because it is virtually impossible to go about publicly without setting foot on private property open to the public – Hawaii’s law functions as a near-total ban on public carry,” the Justice Department told the court in a filing.
Hawaii says its law, passed in 2023, upholds both the right to bear arms and a property owner’s right to keep out guns.
“The Legislature enacted this default rule in light of ample evidence that property owners in Hawai’i do not want people to carry guns onto their property without express consent,” the state’s attorneys said, in written arguments, about the state’s long tradition of restricting weapons, including before Hawaii became a state.
In 1833, for example, Hawaii’s king prohibited anyone from having a knife, sword cane or other dangerous weapon, Hawaii’s attorney general told the court.
Gun rights cases have increased
The challenge to Hawaii’s law is not the only gun rights case the Supreme Court will hear this term.
In March, the justices will debate whether a federal law that prohibits drug users from having a gun applies to a man who was not on drugs at the time of his arrest.
The justices are also deciding whether to take up challenges to state laws banning AR-15s and high-capacity magazines, and challenges to the federal ban on convicted felons owning guns.
Lawsuits over gun laws exploded after the court ruled, in the 2022 decision, that gun rules must be grounded in historical tradition.
Lower courts have struggled to apply that standard.
Lower courts were divided over Hawaii’s law
In the Hawaii challenge, the district court judge’s preliminary view was that the state’s law failed the test.
When Hawaii appealed, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the state, ruling that its law is constitutional.
The appeals court pointed to several historical rules, particularly one from New Jersey in 1771 and another from Louisiana in 1865, both of which required a person have permission before carrying firearms onto private property. Those laws are “dead ringers” for Hawaii’s rules, the court said.
The three Maui residents and a state gun owners group challenging Hawaii’s rules argue that those statutes do not apply to the facts in this case. New Jersey’s law prevented poachers from hunting on private land closed to the public. And Louisiana’s law was aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of formerly enslaved people.
Because Hawaii also bans guns outright from some public areas, including beaches, parks, bars and restaurants serving alcohol − restrictions which the Supreme Court is not reviewing – gun owners are effectively banned from publicly carrying guns nearly everywhere, they argue.
Hawaii counters that to bring a gun into a shop or convenience store, for example, the gun owner must only ask an employee for permission.
“To be sure, the employee might say no, but that possibility cannot render the law unconstitutional because all agree that property owners have the right to exclude guns if they wish,” the state’s attorneys said in a filing.
Gun owners say they’re being treated like ‘monsters’
Gun rights groups say Hawaii’s law is motivated not by a desire to protect private property rights but because Hawaii wants to go after gun owners.
As in the novel “Dracula,” several gun rights groups wrote in a filing supporting the challenge, Hawaii is “treating those with carry permits as if they were monsters that must be warded off.”
In another brief, the National Association for Gun Rights said the state’s “Vampire Rule” requires store owners to take a public stand on a highly controversial issue.
“A business owner who supports the constitutional right to carry arms for self-defense faces a Hobson’s choice,” the group wrote. “He can make his views public and risk offending many of his would-be customers, or he can suppress his preference to allow people to exercise their right to carry on his property.”
‘Foundational to American identity’
Groups working to reduce gun violence worry that the conservative court may not just throw out Hawaii’s law but may do so in a way that tightens the historical tradition test it created for assessing gun laws. All of the justices except Justice Clarence Thomas − who authored the 2022 decision − clarified that standard in a 2024 decision that explained there doesn’t need to be an exact historical match to a modern-day rule to uphold that gun restriction.
That change, if the court sticks with it, allows Hawaii to argue that its law fits within the nation’s long history of regulating private property generally, said Billy Clark, an attorney at Giffords Law Center.
“States historically have always set default rules about the use of property,” Clark said. “That’s why you can’t just assume you can bring your dog with you to a restaurant.”
Douglas Letter, the chief legal officer for the Brady gun control advocacy group, called private property rights “foundational to American identity and embedded throughout our system of government.”
“It is absolutely clear,” he said, “that the wealthy, White men who created the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights, one of the major things that they had in mind was protecting property.”
Forecast for Big Island Windward and Southeast
| Shores | Tonight | Saturday | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surf | Surf | |||
| PM | AM | AM | PM | |
| North Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| East Facing | 4-6 | 4-6 | 4-6 | 4-6 |
| South Facing | 2-4 | 2-4 | 2-4 | 2-4 |
| Weather | Mostly cloudy. Numerous showers. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Temperature | In the upper 60s. | ||||||
| Winds | Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph. | ||||||
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| Weather | Partly sunny. Numerous showers. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Temperature | In the upper 70s. | |||||
| Winds | East winds 10 to 15 mph. | |||||
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| Sunrise | 5:50 AM HST. | |||||
| Sunset | 6:44 PM HST. | |||||
Forecast for Big Island Leeward
| Shores | Tonight | Saturday | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surf | Surf | |||
| PM | AM | AM | PM | |
| West Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| South Facing | 2-4 | 2-4 | 2-4 | 2-4 |
| Weather | Partly sunny until 6 PM, then mostly clear. Isolated showers. |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Temperature | Around 70. | ||||||||||
| Winds | Southwest winds around 5 mph, becoming northeast after midnight. |
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| Weather | Mostly sunny. Isolated showers. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Temperature | In the lower 80s. | ||||||||
| Winds | South winds around 5 mph, becoming west in the afternoon. |
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| Sunrise | 5:54 AM HST. | ||||||||
| Sunset | 6:48 PM HST. | ||||||||
An incoming northwesterly swell will bring rising surf to north and west shores overnight, with surf peaking near advisory levels, before gradually easing through the weekend. Another, slightly smaller northwest swell is expected early next week, and another long-period northwest swell may arrive late next week. Surf along south facing showers will trend upwards over the weekend with the arrival of a long-period south-southwest swell. Surf along east facing shores will trend downward over the weekend as the trade winds weaken.
NORTH EAST
am pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Semi choppy with ESE winds 5-10mph in the morning increasing to 10-15mph in the afternoon.
NORTH WEST
am pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Clean in the morning with ESE winds less than 5mph. Bumpy/semi bumpy conditions for the afternoon with the winds shifting W 5-10mph.
WEST
am pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Light sideshore texture in the morning with NNW winds 5-10mph. Bumpy/semi bumpy conditions for the afternoon with the winds shifting to the WNW.
SOUTH EAST
am pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Sideshore texture/chop with NE winds 10-15mph.
Data Courtesy of NOAA.gov and SwellInfo.com
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Hawaiʻi State Senate and House of Representatives on Thursday approved House Bill No. 1800 CD1, the state’s supplemental budget bill for the fiscal biennium 2025-2027.
The measure was finalized in a joint conference committee after both chambers initially passed different versions. The bill will now be up for final reading in both chambers before heading to the Governor’s desk for his signature.
The appropriations are as follows:
General Fund
Fiscal Year 2026: $10.42 billion
Fiscal Year 2027: $10.63 billion
All Means of Financing
Fiscal Year 2026: $19.77 billion
Fiscal Year 2027: $20.31 billion
“This budget uses cost-saving measures to help keep our promise to address the high cost of living and deliver meaningful tax reform to Hawaii’s citizens, especially our working- and middle-class families. At the same time, we are strengthening the State’s resilience through responsible long-term investments that promote regional economic development and environmental stewardship,” said Senator Donovan M. Dela Cruz, Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means (Senate District 17 – Portion of Mililani, Mililani Mauka, portion of Waipi‘o Acres, Launani Valley, Wahiawā, Whitmore Village).
“The CIP budget reflects our commitment to protecting health and safety, preserving and modernizing state facilities, and investing in the critical infrastructure and public assets our communities rely on. These investments also support affordable housing, strengthen education, and advance economic development that will help sustain thriving communities across Hawai‘i,” stated Senator Sharon Y. Moriwaki, Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means (Senate District 12 – Waikīkī, Ala Moana, Kaka‘ako, McCully).
“This budget reflects the House’s continued collaboration with the Administration and the Senate to take a balanced, responsible approach to preserving core government services and strengthening our safety net for Hawaiʻi’s residents—especially those who rely on these services as a lifeline,” said Representative Chris Todd, Chair of the House Committee on Finance (House District 3 – portions of Hilo, Keaukaha, Orchidlands Estate, Ainaloa, Hawaiian Acres, Fern Acres, and parts of Kurtistown and Kea‘au). “It prioritizes critical needs across housing, agriculture, natural resources, transportation, public safety, and economic development, setting a strong foundation as we respond to federal funding cuts that have impacted Hawaiʻi and required the state to urgently step up to support our residents.”
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The city has received nearly 1,600 damage reports so far after the back-to-back Kona low storms.
Dawn Takeuchi Apuna, director of the Department of Planning and Permitting, provided the information Thursday while testifying in front of the Honolulu City Council Zoning & Planning Committee.
“It was very interesting just to understand, go house to house, to really see the damage, understand what people are going through,” said Apuna about validating the data with government employees.
The DPP provided the following data:
- 23 homes destroyed
- 260 homes need major repairs
- 32 temporarily inaccessible
- 436 homes sustained minor damage
- 442 homes sustained cosmetic damage, but are safe to live in
- 393 homes sustained no visible damage
Apuna explained that major damage means floodwaters reached more than 12 inches and covered a major outlet. Minor damage means floodwaters reached below 12 inches on a structure.
“With this information, FEMA was able to take that data and take it to the feds to determine the disaster declaration,” said Apuna.
Representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration went out into the community to validate the information.
“It was important that we went out right after the storms to assess flood lines within houses and to really understand the level of damage,” said Apuna.
She said close to 56 percent of those affected did not have flood insurance. “That’s where FEMA comes in. If you don’t have insurance, FEMA hopefully can cover that cost.”
Apuna testified that the DPP is providing residents with the tools, resources, and guidance needed to restore structures.
DPP also received 17 new permit applications from flood victims.
“Six are repair permits, two are alteration or addition, which we need to look at because they might not be necessarily Kona low-affected,” said Apuna.
Staff can waive permitting fees on a case-by-case basis.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
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