Published July 9, 2026 at 11:31 AM ET · Updated July 9, 2026 at 12:19 PM ET
New Jersey lawmakers scramble to defend gun-free zones after SCOTUS rulings
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⚖ The Constitutional Angle
Heller noted that longstanding bans on carrying in sensitive places stay presumptively lawful, the footing New Jersey's gun-free zones rest on. But Wolford struck down Hawaii's ban on licensed carry on private property open to the public, holding a state may not flip the common-law default of implied license to demand express permission. New Jersey's zones now sit on contested ground.
District of Columbia v. Heller 554 U.S. 570 (2008)
Vote: 5-4 · Opinion: Scalia
The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia and to use it for traditionally lawful purposes such as self-defense within the home. The right is not unlimited: the Court noted that longstanding prohibitions (e.g., possession by felons and the mentally ill, carrying in sensitive places, conditions on commercial sale) remain presumptively lawful. D.C.'s ban on handgun possession in the home and its requirement that lawful firearms in the home be kept nonfunctional violate the Second Amendment.
Jason Wolford v. Anne E. Lopez, Attorney General of Hawaii 609 U.S. ___ (2026) (slip op.); U.S. Reports page not yet assigned
Vote: 6-3 · Opinion: Alito
Hawaii's law (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 134-9.5(a) (2023)) prohibiting licensed concealed-carry permit holders from carrying handguns on private property open to the public without the owner's express authorization violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendments. The decision restores the common-law default: a person lawfully carrying enjoys the implied license to enter property held open to the public unless the owner withdraws consent — a State may not flip that default to require express permission.
Precedent facts from the PW Law Library — primary-source verified & independently audited
