The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling allowing law-abiding citizens with government-issued concealed-carry permits to freely exercise their Second Amendment right by keeping and bearing firearms in public for the purposes of self-defense has resulted in a flurry of state-level legislative bills and proposed county ordinances to impose greater gun use regulation here in Hawaii and around the country.
Officials here are scrambling to advance bills to prohibit or restrict the ability for citizens with concealed-carry permits to bring a firearm to “sensitive places” — namely, schools, playgrounds, day care centers, government buildings and on public transportation — while complying with a
person’s federal civil rights.
The state Senate Committee on Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs last week held a discussion, then passed Senate
Bill 1230, which includes schools, hospitals and government facilities on its list of sensitive places.
Introduced by state Sen. Glenn Wakai, SB 1230 would, as initially written, impose reporting and temperament requirements for firearm ownership, including suitability based on behavior or any prior indictment for certain crimes. SB 1230 also could make concealed carry in sensitive places a misdemeanor, with vehicle transport
exceptions.
“Hawaii is one of the safest places in America. We want to keep it that way,” Wakai said via email. “Last year’s Supreme Court decision forces the states to
determine where it’s
acceptable to carry firearms. Lawmakers are now debating those designated locations.”
As far as legislation at a city and county level, Wakai said counties like Honolulu can adopt more restrictive ordinances. “But the state needs to create a framework so the public understands what is acceptable behavior throughout the islands,” he added.
And as far as public reaction to SB 1230, Wakai said so far, based solely on public testimony received at a Feb. 6 committee meeting, two-thirds spoke in favor of prohibiting firearms in sensitive places.
“One-third want to freely take their guns anywhere,” he added.
SB 1230, Wakai noted, moves next to the state Senate’s Judiciary Committee for further review and possible passage.
In addition to SB 1230, the state Legislature has introduced at least eight other bills relating to the concealed carry of firearms in sensitive places. Besides schools and day care centers, variations of these state-level bills call for the prohibition of carrying concealed firearms at churches, shelters, public protests, entertainment centers, voting centers and even on private property unless consent is expressly given.
Under some of these measures, anyone caught carrying a concealed weapon in a sensitive place could face a misdemeanor or felony
offense.
Among the county measures is Bill 57: the City and County of Honolulu’s draft ordinance first introduced by Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s administration in September following the high court’s June ruling in New York State Rifle &Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, which, to the consternation of those in law enforcement and for many governors and mayors across the country, overturned a pivotal New York gun safety law.
“The U.S. Supreme Court ruled there is a constitutional right to carry a gun in public, meaning that Hawaii had to loosen its standards and allow more people to carry guns in public,” Scott Humber, the mayor’s director of communications, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser via email. “We are complying with that ruling, and the Honolulu Police Department has already started issuing licenses to individuals to carry concealed firearms in public.”
The Supreme Court stated that cities and states can create gun-free zones in certain “sensitive places” such as schools, Humber added.
“This law was not necessary before the Supreme Court’s ruling because there were such high standards to be able to carry a gun in public in Hawaii,” he said. “This law is now necessary, however, because the Supreme Court is prohibiting us from enforcing some common sense gun-safety laws.”
On a split vote Tuesday, the Honolulu City Council’s Executive Matters and Legal Affairs Committee approved minor revisions to draft Bill 57, which as initially written would prevent people with concealed-carry permits from carrying firearms in retail, industrial, commercial or wholesale establishments. The bill also would not allow concealed weapons at child care facilities, places frequented by children, bars, and restaurants that serve
alcohol. Other prohibited
locations could include the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, Hawaii Children’s Discovery Center, Waikiki Aquarium and Honolulu Zoo.
Unlike Honolulu or the state, the Hawaii County Council already has approved its gun-free zones measure.
Bill 220 was approved in December and covers sensitive places — including hospitals, schools, churches, day care centers and bars, among other sites — where the licensed carrying of concealed and unconcealed
firearms is expressly
prohibited.
“The bill that came about was at the request of the Police Department,” Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth said in a phone interview.
Calling Bill 220 a “stopgap” in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision, Roth noted the Big Island measure took effect without his mayoral approval.
“I didn’t sign it,” said Roth, adding it was because Bill 220’s final version “is confusing and extends the rights to carry too far and contains provisions which appear to violate federal law.”
Roth stressed that he does support the rights of gun owners as well as the safety of citizens and police officers. “I support legislation that both protects an individual’s constitutional right to bear arms for purposes of self-defense and keeps our community safe by limiting firearms in sensitive areas.”
However, Roth said such future gun use legislation should be enacted at the state level. “My view (is) the state should have one rule that encompasses the whole state versus each county having their own rules in this matter, just so people know what the law is,” he said.
Since Bill 220’s passage in 2022, Roth said, there’s been no strong sentiment for or against the measure or its restrictions to carrying firearms. “Not at all,” he added, saying that on the Big Island “the number of people who have the ability to carry is very few.”
The Hawaii County Police Department as well as the Maui Police Department did not comment immediately about how many concealed-carry permits each agency had issued to applicants within those respective counties. But the Honolulu Police Department confirmed that as of Tuesday, 435 concealed-carry weapon applications have been submitted to the city. Of those, 26 concealed-carry permits have actually been granted.
Michelle Yu, a HPD spokesperson, said the average wait time for applicants to receive a concealed-carry permit — also known as a CCW — was “difficult to
estimate.”
“The processing time can vary greatly,” said Yu, “depending on when the required forms are turned in, how many completed applications are received, and the need to verify the documents for each application.”
At Honolulu’s Council committee meeting last week, more than 20 people spoke for and against the city’s proposed Bill 57, with opponents citing the need for arming citizens as a strong deterrent to crime.
Among them was Scott Skedko, a former student of Colorado’s Columbine High School, where a deadly mass shooting and attempted bombing attack occurred in 1999. Skedko asked the Council, “Why can a law-abiding citizen protect themselves at home but they can’t protect their vulnerable children at school?”
Michael Scully argued there were no truly protected or sensitive places on the island. “A sensitive place can only be a place guarded by police 24/7,” he added.
Paul Cudal, a firearms instructor at a local tactical training business opposed to Bill 57, said he believed it would not prevent crime.
“I feel like it’s only going to prevent us CCW holders from protecting our loved ones and others,” Cudal added. “If I were to pick up my kid from school and I couldn’t carry my firearm with me and it so happened a criminal came there to shoot the school — and what if your kid went to that same school and he killed one your guys’ loved ones? — I could have
prevented that from
happening.”
Others like Christopher Thomas supported the proposed ordinance.
“Bill 57 in its original form is an example of a common-sense gun law,” Thomas said, adding that historically, Hawaii residents are not used to having guns carried in public.
James Manaku Sr. said he believed Hawaii had no need of guns at all. “Why do we need guns to protect ourselves?” Manaku asked. “On the continent they need guns to protect themselves. … They always need guns to protect themselves. Why in Hawaii do we need guns?”
The next hearing on Bill 57 is scheduled for Feb. 28.
