<p>A federal judge has blocked the state of Hawaii from enforcing a recently enacted ban on firearms on its prized beaches and in other areas including banks, bars and parks, citing last year's landmark US Supreme Court ruling expanding gun rights.</p>.<p>US District Judge Leslie Kobayashi in Honolulu on Tuesday concluded that the prohibitions likely infringed on the rights of permit-carrying gun owners to carry firearms in public under the US Constitution's Second Amendment.</p>.US Supreme Court allows New York to enforce gun law during lawsuit.<p>Those restrictions were enacted after the conservative-majority Supreme Court in June 2022 declared for the first time that the Second Amendment's guarantee of a person's right to "keep and bear arms" protects an individual's right to carry a handgun in public for self-defense.</p>.<p>That decision, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, announced a new test for assessing firearms laws, saying restrictions must be "consistent with this nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation."</p>.<p>The ruling prompted Hawaiian lawmakers to pass a bill that Democratic Governor Josh Green signed into law in June that sought to comply with the decision while deterring gun violence by barring firearms in "sensitive places."</p>.<p>The measure was challenged by three Hawaii residents and the gun rights group Hawaii Firearms Coalition, who called the prohibitions unconstitutional.</p>.<p>Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez's office argued the law was consistent with historical gun regulations and served a state interest in protecting public safety, including on crowded beaches where children and families congregate.</p>.<p>But while Kobayashi acknowledged the important role beaches play in Hawaii's economy, "the state does not provide any evidence that this nation has a historical tradition of regulating or prohibiting the carrying of firearms on beaches."</p>.<p>Kobayashi, an appointee of Democratic then-President Barack Obama, said Hawaii's ban on guns in bars and restaurants that serve alcohol likewise failed due to the "confounding" and "curious" way the Supreme Court defined what constitutes a "historical tradition" of gun regulation.</p>.<p>Alan Beck, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, hailed the judge's temporary restraining order, saying Kobayashi "faithfully applied Supreme Court precedent and came to the correct result."</p>.<p>A spokesperson for Lopez did not respond to a request for comment.</p>
<p>A federal judge has blocked the state of Hawaii from enforcing a recently enacted ban on firearms on its prized beaches and in other areas including banks, bars and parks, citing last year's landmark US Supreme Court ruling expanding gun rights.</p>.<p>US District Judge Leslie Kobayashi in Honolulu on Tuesday concluded that the prohibitions likely infringed on the rights of permit-carrying gun owners to carry firearms in public under the US Constitution's Second Amendment.</p>.US Supreme Court allows New York to enforce gun law during lawsuit.<p>Those restrictions were enacted after the conservative-majority Supreme Court in June 2022 declared for the first time that the Second Amendment's guarantee of a person's right to "keep and bear arms" protects an individual's right to carry a handgun in public for self-defense.</p>.<p>That decision, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, announced a new test for assessing firearms laws, saying restrictions must be "consistent with this nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation."</p>.<p>The ruling prompted Hawaiian lawmakers to pass a bill that Democratic Governor Josh Green signed into law in June that sought to comply with the decision while deterring gun violence by barring firearms in "sensitive places."</p>.<p>The measure was challenged by three Hawaii residents and the gun rights group Hawaii Firearms Coalition, who called the prohibitions unconstitutional.</p>.<p>Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez's office argued the law was consistent with historical gun regulations and served a state interest in protecting public safety, including on crowded beaches where children and families congregate.</p>.<p>But while Kobayashi acknowledged the important role beaches play in Hawaii's economy, "the state does not provide any evidence that this nation has a historical tradition of regulating or prohibiting the carrying of firearms on beaches."</p>.<p>Kobayashi, an appointee of Democratic then-President Barack Obama, said Hawaii's ban on guns in bars and restaurants that serve alcohol likewise failed due to the "confounding" and "curious" way the Supreme Court defined what constitutes a "historical tradition" of gun regulation.</p>.<p>Alan Beck, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, hailed the judge's temporary restraining order, saying Kobayashi "faithfully applied Supreme Court precedent and came to the correct result."</p>.<p>A spokesperson for Lopez did not respond to a request for comment.</p>