Possession of firearms can be a touchy subject, especially when community members live in close proximity in an HOA community. The following article is a summary of a legal framework at one point in time (subject to change) around a sensitive issue. It is not intended as a substitute for legal advice. Please consult your own HOA attorney for further information.
There was a highly publicized case, on June 23, 2022, where the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, that a New York state law which prohibited possession of a firearm without a license, whether inside or outside the home, was unconstitutional. The New York law at issue was similar to those in effect in many other states, including Hawaii.
The New York law at issue allowed gun owners to obtain a permit to possess a firearm for self-defense if they could prove, “proper cause exists” for doing so. In its decision striking down the New York law, the Court held New York’s proper-cause requirement violates the Fourteenth Amendment by preventing law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their right to keep and bear arms in public.
It is important to keep in mind the Supreme Court’s decision applies only to laws, ordinances and regulations adopted by federal, state, and local governments and/or government agencies. This ruling does not apply to private property owners nor facilities which are not open to the public, such as private residential condominium associations.
As a basic premise, most condominium associations in Hawaii are permitted to adopt rules regulating conduct while present on and/or regarding use of the common elements: Unless otherwise permitted by the declaration, bylaws, or this chapter, an association may adopt rules and regulations that affect the use of or behavior in units that may be used for residential purposes only to: (1) Prevent any use of a unit which violates the declaration or bylaws; (2) Regulate any behavior in or occupancy of a unit which violates the declaration or bylaws or unreasonably interferes with the use and enjoyment of other units or the common elements by other unit owners; or (3) Restrict the leasing of residential units to the extent those rules are reasonably designed to meet underwriting requirements of institutional lenders who regularly lend money secured by first mortgages on units in condominiums or regularly purchase those mortgages. Otherwise, the association may not regulate any use of or behavior in units by means of the rules and regulations. See, Hawaii Revised Statutes, Section §514B-105(b).
In light of the above language, while it appears probable that a Hawaii court would uphold a house rule or regulation properly adopted in accordance with an association’s governing documents, requiring the registration of and/or prohibiting guns on the common elements, this same conclusion would not apply to registration and/or possession of guns wholly within individual units. Specifically, in 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008), where the Court held the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that firearm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.
Although this case was filed as a challenge to a District of Columbia gun control ordinance, the Court’s decision was a clear affirmation of the Second Amendment’s right of individuals to possess firearms for self-defense within their summer home. When reading both of the above cited Supreme Court decisions together, it appears unlikely that the Supreme Court would uphold a residential condominium association’s requirement that residents register firearms kept solely within their unit, as this could be determined to be an impermissible restriction on an individual’s right to possess firearms for self-defense within their home.
Although not currently applicable in Hawaii at the time of this writing, local or state governments may adopt laws prohibiting condominium associations from imposing restrictions on the possession of guns on the common elements.
While it is unlikely that the Supreme Court would uphold a residential condominium association covenant requiring the registration of guns within individual units, properly adopted restrictions prohibiting possession and/or requiring registration of firearms on the common elements appear likely to be upheld in response to a legal challenge.
Christopher Shea Goodwin, Esq., Member Manager of Christopher Shea Goodwin, Attorney at Law, LLC, compiled the original article, with assistance of Robert S. Alcorn, Esq., and Ann E. McIntire, Esq.
