Number of registered firearms in Hawaii unknown, study finds

There is no reliable way to determine how many registered firearms are in Hawaii, let alone how many unregistered or illegal weapons there might be in the state, according to a new study by the Hawaii Legislative Reference Bureau.

In a state that has some of the toughest firearm laws in the nation, some may be surprised to learn there is no accurate count of the legally owned and registered firearms. Police and officials with the state Attorney General’s Office say there would be little point in trying to tally them up.

“Police departments’ firearm registration records date back to at least the 1920s, and it would be a monumental task of limited practical value to determine which persons and firearms still exist in Hawaii,” according to the Criminal Prevention & Justice Assistance Division of the Attorney General’s Office.

That conclusion is part of a recently released report called “Straight Shooting: An Objective Review of Hawaii Firearm Laws and Related Statistics” produced by the reference bureau, which conducts research for the state Legislature.

The report also cites statistics showing the rate of murders involving firearms in Hawaii averaged 0.8 per 100,000 residents from 1994 to 2017, while the average rate for the nation as a whole was more than triple that at 3.4 per 100,000 residents.

An average of 32 percent of all murders in Hawaii were committed with firearms from 1994 to 2017, while an average of nearly 60 percent of the murders in the U.S. were committed with firearms during the same period, according to the report.

The state Attorney General’s Office tallied 449,411 new firearm registrations from 2007 to 2017, according to the report, and the department “cautiously” estimates there are about 2 million privately owned firearms in Hawaii today.

The Honolulu Police Department maintains firearm registrations dating back to 1932, and over the years has registered 728,177 firearms to 103,592 owners on Oahu, according to the report. Kauai police reported they have registered 20,034 firearms.

Hawaii County officials did not provide an estimate, noting that a single gun could be registered numerous times as it is bought and sold. Maui officials reported that their firearm registrations before the mid-1980s are not recorded electronically, and a manual count “is not feasible,” according to the report.

Another factor that makes an accurate count of registered firearms difficult is that gun owners might simply move out of state and take their firearms with them, police said.

The report also provides a review of Hawaii firearm laws and compares them with other states’, noting that seven other states have enacted so-called “red flag” laws that temporarily bar people from possessing firearms if law enforcement, family members or health care workers demonstrate the individual “poses a significant danger to himself or to others.”

Hawaii has no such law, but the Senate Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs will hear a bill that would create a “red flag” law in Hawaii. That bill will be heard at 1:15 p.m. Thursday in Room 229 of the state Capitol.

Senate Bill 1466 would create a process that police or family members could use to petition a court to prevent a person from accessing firearms if that person “poses a danger of causing bodily injury to oneself or another.”

The measure is being opposed by the National Rifle Association, which contends that “these orders would lack due process, contain low evidentiary standards, and fall well below the norm for removing constitutional rights.”

Hawaii lawmakers also have declined to pass a ban on assault weapons as some other states have. The report notes that California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and the District of Columbia have enacted laws to ban or tightly restrict the possession or sale of assault weapons.

In other ways Hawaii’s gun laws are considerably more restrictive than other states. Hawaii requires a state background check for anyone who tries to buy a gun, while 37 other states do not require those checks. State law also requires a permit to openly carry a handgun in public, but 31 other states do not.

BY THE NUMBERS

The average annual rate of murders involving firearms from 1994 to 2017:

Hawaii

0.8 murders per 100,000 residents

U.S.

3.4 murders per 100,000 residents

Source: Hawaii Legislative Reference Bureau report