An appeals court on Wednesday ruled that states may restrict people from openly carrying firearms in public—upholding a Hawaii gun regulation that bans residents from openly carrying guns without a license. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 7-4 that restrictions on carrying guns in public except for hunting do not violate the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms. “The government may regulate, and even prohibit, in public places—including government buildings, churches, schools, and markets—the open carrying of small arms capable of being concealed, whether they are carried concealed or openly,” Judge Jay Bybee, appointed by former President George W. Bush, wrote in his opinion (pdf) for the court’s majority. “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,” the judge added, saying, “There is no right to carry arms openly …