WASHINGTON \u00a0\u2014\u00a0Licensed gun owners have a right to carry a concealed firearm into stores and other private places unless the owner objects, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday.<\/p>\n
The 6-3 decision extends gun rights and strikes down laws in Hawaii, California, New York, New Jersey and Maryland. <\/p>\n
Those measures would prohibit carrying guns onto private property that is open to the public unless the owner has expressly authorized them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis regime hobbles what the 2nd Amendment protects: the right of Americans to carry arms for self-defense as they go about their daily lives. We hold that the law is unconstitutional,\u201d Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. said for the court.<\/a> <\/p>\n The new laws, if upheld, would \u201cimpose severe restrictions on the daily activities of residents who have satisfied the state\u2019s rigorous requirements for the issuance of a carry permit. When these permit holders leave home in the morning, … they may also be barred from entering many places that people routinely visit in the course of their daily routines, such as gas stations, convenience stores, restaurants, coffee shops, drug stores, grocery stores, \u2018big box\u2019 stores, home improvement stores, barber shops or hair salons, dry cleaners, and laundromats.\u201d<\/p>\n The three liberals dissented, saying the law would protect property owners who don\u2019t want guns in their stores.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no constitutional right to enter private property without the owner\u2019s permission, let alone with a firearm,\u201d said Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.<\/p>\n Trump administration lawyers had joined a coalition of Hawaii gun owners in urging the court to strike down these blue state laws in the case of Wolford vs. Lopez.<\/p>\n They said the laws, if enforced, would mean \u201ca person carrying a handgun for self-defense commits a crime by entering a mall, a gas station, a convenience store, a supermarket, a restaurant or a coffee shop.\u201d<\/p>\n This litigation is part of much broader of debate over where guns may be permitted or prohibited. <\/p>\n Four years ago, the justices ruled that law-abiding persons had a right to obtain a permit to carry a concealed gun when they left home. They also agreed there are \u201csensitive places\u201d where guns may be prohibited, such as schools, courts and other government buildings. <\/p>\n In response, lawmakers in California and Hawaii adopted their own lists of \u201csensitive places.\u201d They imposed restrictions on concealed weapons at parks, beaches, playgrounds, places of worship and public transit as well as and bars and restaurants that serve alcohol. <\/p>\n