Honolulu City Council OKs bill designating gun-free places

Firearms should be banned on Oahu in 13 “sensitive places,” including schools, hospitals and parks, the Honolulu City Council decided Wednesday.

The Council passed Bill 57 on the third reading. If signed by Mayor Rick Blangiardi, the bill will become law May 1.

Bill 57 follows the June 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which limits states’ abilities to restrict the carrying of firearms.

The bill also would require that anyone carrying a firearm who interacts with law enforcement must present their firearm license and inform officers they are carrying a weapon.

Tyler Dos Santos-Tam, whose district includes Downtown Honolulu, offered amendments to Bill 57 that specified among other things the definition of public transit.

“For the definitions, we just made them a little more specific and a little more narrow, so there would be less ambiguity,” Dos Santos-Tam told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser following Wednesday’s vote.

Dos Santos-Tam also said the bill’s May 1 effective date gives businesses time to understand the bill and put up signs.

“Hawaii historically has had low rates of gun violence, and we need to keep it that way,” Dos Santos-­Tam said in a statement. “Bill 57 is a step toward keeping our island home safe from the violence and tragedies we see on the mainland.”

Bill 57 attracted passionate debate on both sides Wednesday.

Andrew Namiki Roberts, a director of the Hawaii Firearms Coalition, showed up at the Council chambers Wednesday carrying an empty rifle case.

“I just want to be able to carry a firearm for my self-defense everywhere that I can legally be without having these restrictions put on me,” Roberts said. “If this bill does move forward, we’re gonna end up with a lawsuit.”

State Sen. Kurt Fevella (R, Ewa Beach-Ocean Pointe-­Iroquois Point) testified virtually in opposition to Bill 57.

“I don’t want to take away any more rights than we have to for the people,” Fevella said.

But Charla Teves, a member of Students Demand Action, supports the bill.

“Especially with the uproar of mass shootings,” Teves said, “designating sensitive spaces like schools to keep my generation safe is really important.”

Michael Golojuch Jr. of the Stonewall Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii said he “stands in full support of this bill.”

“Putting more guns on our streets will not make us safer,” Golojuch said. “If you look at those Gun-A-Palooza states like Texas and Florida — they do have more gun violence per capita than we do because they have more guns on their streets.”

Several bills were introduced this legislative session that would create gun-banned zones statewide, but only one remains alive.

Senate Bill 1230 crossed over to the state House on March 7.

The latest version of SB 1230 does not specify where firearms would be prohibited across the state. But it establishes the crime of carrying a firearm in unspecified “sensitive locations.”

SB 1230 does say that, “Many states and federal agencies have historically enacted location-based restrictions on the carrying of firearms in or on such places as school grounds, legislative buildings, polling places, courthouses, places of worship, college and university campuses, bars and restaurants that serve alcohol, and other spaces for public or social gathering.”

The bill would prohibit authorities from issuing firearm permits to anyone when it is not “in the interest of the public health, safety, or welfare because the person is found to be lacking the essential character or temperament necessary to be entrusted with a firearm.”

Like the city’s Bill 57, SB 1230 would require anyone carrying a firearm to provide a license and to disclose during interactions with law enforcement that they are carrying a firearm.

“While the Legislature is at its halfway mark in session, we cannot wait for them to act,” said Council Chairman Tommy Waters. “There is no certainty that any state bills will pass. And even if one does, the counties are still able to legislate to protect their residents.”

‘SENSITIVE PLACES’

The places designated in Honolulu City Council’s Bill 57 where firearms would be banned include:

>> City-owned buildings.

>> State and federally owned buildings.

>> Schools and child care facilities.

>> Public parks.

>> Shelters, including homeless and domestic violence shelters.

>> Places frequented by children, including the Waikiki Aquarium.

>> Election polling places.

>> Public transit.

>> Businesses that serve alcohol.

>> Large public gatherings, including protests.

>> Concert venues.

>> Cannabis dispensaries.

>> Hospitals.