Hawaii

Supreme Court takes up gun owners’ challenge to ‘Vampire Rules’

Published

3 months ago

January 17, 2026

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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.

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.”

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Hawaii

Hawaii AG provides update on public corruption investigation

Published

9 hours ago

April 11, 2026

Press Room

Hawaii AG provides update on public corruption investigation

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Hawaii Attorney General‘s office issued its regular biweekly update Friday regarding an ongoing criminal public corruption investigation.

The case concerns the disclosure of about $35,000 to a Hawaii politician.

The AG’s Special Investigation and Prosecution Division has reviewed thousands of pages of subpoenaed materials and conducting 18 interviews, which have helped shed light on the circumstances under investigation.

According to this latest update, they are getting a more refined timeline of events surrounding the transaction in question, bringing investigators closer to some of the key answers they need.

Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez addressed the lengthy process as the public waits for details.

“I understand that people want answers, and we want the same,” Lopez said. “Following the rule of law is paramount to ensure that individual constitutional rights are protected. Releasing information for any purpose other than to further the investigation would violate my oath of office and my promise to the people of Hawaii.”

Lopez also took a moment to praise the work of the news outlets coverage of the case.

“I appreciate the responsible reporting from the news media,” Lopez said. “More than anyone, journalists understand the importance of being absolutely certain of the facts before releasing information.”

The AG has not identified any individuals involved because the investigation is active.

The next public update is scheduled for Friday, April 24.

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Hawaii

Meet Miss Aloha Hula 2026: Faith Kealohapauole Paredes

Published

21 hours ago

April 10, 2026

Press Room

Meet Miss Aloha Hula 2026: Faith Kealohapauole Paredes

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Faith Kealohapau‘ole Paredes of Hālau Kekuaokalāʻauʻalaʻiliahi (Nā Kumu Haunani & ‘Iliahi Paredes) was crowned Miss Aloha Hula Thursday night at the Merrie Monarch Festival, topping a field of 13 competitors in the festival’s first night of competition.

The contest features performances in hula kahiko, hula ʻauana and oli, showcasing both technical precision and artistic interpretation.

Judges scored competitors on a range of elements, including kaʻi; interpretation and expression; posture and precision; hand gestures; foot and body movement; hoʻi; authenticity of costume and adornments; grooming; and overall performance.

The 21-year-old from Maui received 1,161 points.

“It’s surreal,” she said. “I’m just so honored and blessed to be able to show and share my lineage and share the hula from my hello with all of Hawaii and all of the world.”

Paredes also won the Hawaiian Language Award.

“Hula will forever live,” she said. “It is through us speaking out in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi. It is through us (to) not be ashamed of who we are and to hula on. Dance with your heart out.”

Paredes is a Kamehameha Schools graduate and attends Dartmouth College. She won the title of Miss Keiki Hula in 2015.

The rest of the finalists were as follows:

1st runner up: Keoe Momilani Michiko Hoe (1,156)

2nd runner up: Lahela Hoʻokela Medina Maio (1,134 points)

3rd runner up: Leimana Kaleinamanu Purdy (1,115 points)

4th runner up: Jelacia Naomi Waiauokalaniākea Peralta (1,098 points)

The festival continues Friday night with group hula kahiko.

View our Merrie Monarch Festival online hub here.

Samantha Makanani Aguon Newman

Nā Kumu Hula Karl Veto Baker & Michael Lanakila Casupang

Haily Kamakahukilani Nawahine Nascimento

Nā Kumu Hula William Kahakuleilehua Haunu‘u “Sonny” Ching & Lōpaka Igarta-De Vera

Kēhaulani Kaleikaumakamaeʻiʻomakamae Rubonal

Kumu Hula Keolalaulani Dalire

Mālie Kapuaonaonaikamauʻuuaolalokoikealohaokalaniākea Moe

Kumu Hula Kapua Dalire-Moe

Lilia Kaleialohaokealohalani Ka’ōnohi’ula Keohokapuakeakua Iokepa-Guerrero

Kumu Hula Niuliʻi Heine

Jovian Kauanoeokalaulani Range-Semisi

Nā Kumu Hula Kunewa Mook & Kau‘ionālani Kamana‘o

Keoe Momilani Michiko Hoe

Kumu Hula Robert Ke‘ano Ka‘upu IV

Lahela Hoʻokela Medina Maio

Nā Kumu Hula Tracie & Keawe Lopes

Faith Lynn Kealohapauʻole Paredes

Nā Kumu Hula Haunani & ‘Iliahi Paredes

Jelacia Naomi Waiauokalaniākea Peralta

Kumu Breeze Ann Kalehuaonālani Vidinha Pavao

Hiʻileilanikauakapukapuokeānuenue Puchalski

Kumu Hula Keli‘iho‘omalu Puchalski

Leimana Kaleinamanu Purdy

Kumu Hula Nāpua Silva

Līlianani Maya Rae Pi

Kumu Hula Kenneth Dean Alohapumehanaokalā Victor

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Hawaii

Hawaii lawmakers push for continued tax relief for most families

Published

1 day ago

April 10, 2026

Press Room

Hawaii lawmakers push for continued tax relief for most families

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Hawaii State Legislature is entering the final weeks of the 2025 session with at least one point of agreement: income taxes will continue to decline for most families.

Both the House and Senate rejected the governor’s plan to cancel some tax relief, despite earlier uncertainty about the state’s financial situation.

“So what the Senate’s position is, is we want to make sure that the promises that were made are kept, especially with those families that make $350,000 a year or less,” said Senate Ways and Means chair Donovan Dela Cruz.

House Finance chair Rep. Chris Todd agreed the priority is ensuring ongoing tax relief.

Energy tax credits targeted to offset revenue loss

Continuing to reduce taxes means nearly $2 billion has to come from somewhere else. The Senate Ways and Means Committee voted to eliminate state energy tax credits for things like solar power and electric cars in 2029.

The credits could be saved if the economy improves.

“So this becomes a shared approach. Government cuts, business tax credits, get sunset, and then we’re still charging some of the higher end income brackets,” Dela Cruz said. “Their tax breaks are going to get repealed.”

House proposes tax increase on high earners

The House moved along a redesigned tax package that makes tax credits for spending on child care and food more generous and raises income taxes on families with incomes over $350,000.

“It would provide some ongoing tax relief to low to middle income families, but in return, we would request a 1% tax increase on very high income families,” Todd said.

The financial picture is clearer now, even with flood disaster costs, because of the federal disaster declaration.

“Now the state’s eligible to get reimbursed for a lot of these funds. We’re not sure what it’s going to look like, but that’s going to be positive for us,” Dela Cruz said.

Todd said the state is sitting on a solid reserve, a luxury not many states have right now.

All the proposals from the House and the Senate are now going into conference committee, where the final details will be worked out over the next month.

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