WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court is taking up another gun rights dispute in a case that could lead to more handguns in public places.

The court, which has made major expansions to gun rights in recent years, agreed on Oct. 3 to hear a Trump-backed challenge to gun restrictions in Hawaii that require a gun user obtain permission before venturing onto private property open to the public such as a business.

Hawaii and four other states led by Democrats − California, New York, Maryland and New Jersey − imposed new rules after the court in 2022 made it harder to restrict which individuals may arm themselves in public.

After such states lost most of their control over who could publicly carry guns, their focus turned to where in the public sphere they could bring them.

While property owners were always able to restrict weapons, Hawaii’s law makes the default that handguns aren’t permitted on private property open to the public unless a property owner gives express permission. Previously, the standard legal presumption in the state and others was that lawful weapons could be brought onto private property unless the armed person was expressly told not to have them.

Three gun owners in Hawaii and the Hawaii Firearms Coalition challenged the law, saying it eviscerates the right to carry arms for self-defense that the Supreme Court affirmed in 2022.

The Trump administration backed an appeal by the Hawaii firearms advocates.

“Someone carrying a firearm for self-defense cannot run errands without fear of criminal sanctions,” Solicitor General John Sauer wrote, urging the court to take the case.

Lower courts grappling with Supreme Court's gun rulings

Lower courts are still struggling to apply a series of recent Supreme Court rulings on guns.

In the 2022 decision striking down a New York law requiring state residents to have a special need to carry weapons outside the home, the court said gun rules must be similar to a historical regulation on weapons to pass constitutional muster.

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Hawaii’s rule passes that test.

But the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that a similar restriction in New York does not.

Both states also ban firearms in “sensitive places.” In Hawaii, that includes beaches and parks, and restaurants and bars that serve alcohol, a prohibition that is also being challenged.

The case is expected to be argued next year with a decision by July.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Supreme Court will hear challenge to Hawaii's gun law backed by Trump administration

Reporting by Maureen Groppe, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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