Hawaii is one of only eight states that places significant restrictions on carrying guns for self-protection outside the home.

Hawaii law says that a county chief of police may grant a license to carry a concealed weapon for someone who, “in an exceptional case,” demonstrates a “reason to fear injury to the applicant’s person or property.” Likewise, for an open-carry permit, a demonstration of “the urgency or the need” to carry must be demonstrated. Permits are rarely, if ever, granted.

Such restrictions are anathema for those who believe the Second Amendment gives individuals a more-or-less unfettered right to bear arms. Indeed, most other states appear to lean in that direction.

That Hawaii is not one of them is a credit to common sense and a long history of legislation that dates back to kingdom days. In 1852, Hawaii enacted its first restricted-carry statute, the “Act To Prevent the Carrying of Deadly Weapons,” which noted that “the habit of carrying deadly weapons is dangerous to life and the public peace.”

That argument made sense then, and does today. There’s no good reason to think that regular civilians walking around with loaded guns on public streets will accomplish much except, perhaps, make our communities less safe.

But gun-rights advocates may have the last word. The U.S. Supreme Court this week said it will review a New York law that requires people seeking to carry a gun outside their homes to demonstrate “proper cause.”

In the past, the high court has turned down many opportunities to review its landmark District of Columbia v. Heller decision, which established an individual’s constitutional right to keep a gun at home for self-defense. This time the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, could find that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to carry a gun in public, and that strict rules violate that right.

It’s an issue that hits home. In 2012, Hilo resident George K. Young Jr. sued after then-Hawaii Police Chief Harry Kubojiri twice rejected his application for a license to carry a firearm. Young sought to obtain the license out a general desire to protect himself, without demonstrating “the urgency or the need” required by state law to carry a gun openly.

On March 24, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, on a 7-4 vote, upheld Hawaii’s statute.

“Our review of more than 700 years of English and American legal history reveals a strong theme: Government has the power to regulate arms in the public square,” said Judge Jay S. Bybee.

We can only hope it stays that way.