A record number of firearms were registered in Hawaii last year, marking a 17.2 percent increase over 2010, with registration of 36,804 firearms, the attorney general’s office reported.

Also, a record high total of 15,375 personal and private firearm permit applications were processed statewide during 2011, a 20.1 percent increase from the previous record high of 12,801 applications processed in 2010.

Just under half (17,949) of the firearms registered in 2011 were imported from out of state. The remainder (18,855 registrations) were in-state ownership transfers of guns that were already in Hawaii. 

The attorney general’s office said firearm registration activity increased dramatically over the 12 years in which data have been systematically compiled and reported. From 2000 through 2011, the number of permit applications processed annually climbed 136.9 percent, the number of firearms registered soared 170.3 percent, and the number of firearms imported surged 148.3 percent.