As Hawaii enters an uncharted era of more legal guns in public, clarity and awareness will be needed about the new terms and conditions of what’s allowed.

For instance: concealed carry versus open carry, a distinction that was sharply drawn by Honolulu Police Chief Arthur “Joe” Logan this week. On the Star-Advertiser’s “Spotlight Hawaii” webcast on Monday, he urged people to call 911 if someone — who is not police, security or law enforcement — is seen toting a firearm in public. For the most part, only guns not exposed in the open will be permitted, after the owner meets stringent requirements such as a background check and proof of shooting training.

“Obviously, concealed carry and the definition of ‘conceal’ means that you can’t see (the firearm) or it is unrecognizable to the average person,” Logan said “If it is noticed and you can see it, I would ask you to call 911.”

Hawaii is now obliged to issue more firearms carry permits — an unfortunate consequence of the U.S. Supreme Court’s New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen ruling in June, which essentially lowered the high bar for guns in public that Hawaii and other states have enjoyed for decades. As statistics have shown, fewer guns in communities benefits public safety — but the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Second Amendment has given a boost to gun-carry rights.

For Hawaii, that means all police departments must loosen their historically restrictive rules, while hewing to the state attorney general’s guidance that permits be loosened for concealed carry only; open-carry requests remain subject to the high bar of demonstrating need or personal peril.

Though relatively small in numbers — HPD, for instance, is vetting about 600 concealed-carry applications — this still represents a major shift in Hawaii’s gun culture, and that’s why strict curbs must be crafted on where concealed-carry firearms will be allowed. On Oahu, the City Council is on the right track with the proposed Bill 57 to ban firearms at “sensitive places” (such as schools, churches and government buildings) and to require signage at private establishments about their on-site gun policy. It will be a balancing act to reconcile off-limit locales with gun rights, but given Hawaii’s long-held no-carry culture, fewer guns is the wiser public policy.

The upcoming state Legislature, too, must decide how best to implement a “sensitive places” ban statewide. Having a uniform law throughout Hawaii would be ideal — to minimize confusion that is bound to occur among citizens who, for generations, have not had to think about the reality that some in their midst are carrying a gun in public.