Editorial: Make strict rules for carrying guns

At a grocery store in Buffalo. At an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. At an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago. The gun violence continues across the U.S. in epidemic proportions, creating a national unease.

The July 4 slaughter of seven in Illinois, killed by a shooter using a semi-automatic weapon, comes against the backdrop of nationwide uncertainty created by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on June 23, striking down a concealed-carry law in New York. The court found the law overly restrictive — but for more than a century, that state had deemed it protective.

Hawaii has gun restrictions comparable to New York’s, and the Supreme Court’s decision has opened a door for increased permitting to carry a handgun here. Preliminary steps have already been taken in response, and that’s appropriate: The state must prepare to take part in a push-back against this national idolatry of gun use and gun ownership, and the fatal misconception that more guns make us safer.

A war on two fronts is needed to battle this scourge of gun violence. In Hawaii, law enforcement and legislators must use all powers at their disposal to regulate gun ownership and licensing, along with rules for public carry. On a national level, all citizens must continue to demand a ban on semi-automatic weapons, along with expansion of federal licensing requirements and a federal “red flag” law that would set nationwide, minimum standards for owning and keeping a deadly weapon.

The Supreme Court has just pushed a case challenging Hawaii’s restrictions — Young v. Hawaii — back to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, to be reevaluated in light of its New York decision.

Heretofore, public carry of handguns in Hawaii — whether open or concealed — has been effectively barred in all but very restricted circumstances, leaving the state fortunate to experience a very low rate of gun violence.

Hawaii’s handgun carry rules will have to be readdressed in light of the Supreme Court ruling striking down New York’s law requirement for “proper cause” to carry a concealed gun. Right now, all applications here are on hold until police departments receive official guidance; however, the Honolulu Police Department as of Wednesday already has received 48 new applications since the ruling.

No specific changes in licensing gun owners or granting of a permit to carry a gun in public have been presented yet, but representatives from the the state Department of the Attorney General met with representatives from the county prosecutors’ offices, police departments and corporation counsels on June 30 to discuss balancing the high court’s decision with public safety.

Some restrictions will need to wait for the next legislative session in Hawaii. One of the first should be a full ban on semi-automatic rifles, adding to the state’s ban on semi-automatic pistols. It’s indefensible that this has not already been implemented; however, legislation to strengthen this law has languished in past years.

As proposed in 2020, Hawaii should ban assault rifles, assault shotguns, and shotguns with a revolving cylinder; expand the ban on semi-automatic pistols to include any firearm with a detachable magazine with over 10-round capacity; and prohibit bringing these assault weapons into the state.

As soon as possible, Hawaii should follow New York’s lead in adding to licensing requirements and establishing periodic background checks.

The Supreme Court ruling in the New York case does not prohibit a bar on guns in “sensitive” locations, and Hawaii should act to define buses, parks and beaches, hospitals, stadiums, day care centers and all appropriate sites as no-gun zones.

Ultimately, the most effective policies would control gun use and ownership nationwide. Whatever the practical odds of enacting these safety measures, we should not relent in calling for them.

Protecting islanders from the tragedy of gun violence, a security that Hawaii has largely enjoyed, must continue.