Editorial: Strict gun laws work here

We’ll say it because we believe it: Stricter gun laws do work.

A new nationwide report of gun deaths and gun-related homicides over a 10-year period showed that Hawaii had the lowest rate in both — reassuring stats when it comes to public safety.

Still, the cases averaged out to a person in Hawaii being killed by a gun every eight days, according to the report by the Center for American Progress, a progressive Washington, D.C., think tank.

Hawaii does have among the strictest gun laws in the nation — and that higher hurdle to accessibility and availability seems to be translating to fewer chances for gun-related mishap or violence.

Also helping the situation is sheer geography: “Hawaii is isolated from the rest of the states, so gun trafficking doesn’t affect it as much like Illinois and New York that (also) have strong gun laws,” noted Eugenio Weigend, the center’s associate director of gun violence. “But they’re next to states with weak laws, so gun trafficking happens frequently. Hawaii is protected.”

Still, a recent spate of brazen crimes around Oahu involving firearms has folks on edge — including an armed robbery on a Waikiki street on Monday, and a home-invasion robbery of a grandmother minding her grandchild. Honolulu police this week acknowledged an estimated 20% increase in crimes involving firearms over time.

Granted, gun control is controversial, with firearm enthusiasts proclaiming that guns don’t kill people, people do. And it’s true that there’s a limit to what good legislation can do against bad behavior. But laws that restrict firearms mean fewer weapons in the community falling into the wrong hands, lessening the potential for harm or self-harm.