Honolulu is heading in the right direction in its gun regulations, erecting some robust protections by defining areas where carrying a firearm outside the home will be barred. Mayor Rick Blangiardi rightly has stated his intent to sign Bill 57, which brings clarity to how public handling of these private weapons will be managed on Oahu.

Bill 57 sets out 13 zones, including schools, hospitals and parks, where guns would not be allowed. That’s a good start, but there needs to be clear laws in place that address the entire state.

That is why Senate Bill 1230, up for another hearing today, must be advanced. The hearing is set to start at 2 p.m. in House conference room 325, before the House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs (see 808ne.ws/SB1230 for links to submit testimony and watch the YouTube livestream).

This legislation is one of the ripple effects of last June’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle &Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen. While the court ruled that the ability to carry a gun outside the home is a constitutional right, it allowed local governments to define “sensitive” locations where firearms could be restricted legally.

Maui and Kauai counties have not yet settled on their own definitions for these locations, but already differences have arisen in policies set by lawmakers for Honolulu and Hawaii counties.

While the two counties mainly align on defining specific categories of sensitive places, they take different stances on gun allowance on private properties.

On Oahu, once Bill 57 becomes law as expected, the assumption would be that carrying a firearm on private property would be prohibited, unless the business or venue has given express permission to bring it on premise. In a Friday interview for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s “Spotlight Hawaii” webcast, Blangiardi said the city would provide signage to help property owners post their permission prominently.

The opposite default is in force for Hawaii County, which was the first local authority to adopt a sensitive-places ordinance in December. On the Big Island, a gun owner presumes a right to take a gun along into a private place unless directed otherwise.

This difference matters. Each county does have some sense of separation and autonomy. But this is also a unified state. Where a matter of public safety is concerned, it is crucial to head off confusion by having at least minimum standards imposed statewide, such as those proposed in SB 1230.

Some key county authorities agree. Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth told lawmakers at a hearing in January that, “even if the state preempted the counties, we (would) have one set of rules versus four sets of rules.”

No argument. SB 1230 adopts the more stringent approach of the Oahu bill. It establishes the crime of carrying a firearm in a sensitive location or on the private property of another without authorization.

Among its various elements, the bill would set requirements for applications for a license to carry a concealed firearm, require the weapons to be kept in a locked container and out of plain view when in an unattended vehicle and allow county police to conduct criminal history record checks for licenses to carry a firearm.

In its introduction, the measure correctly asserts that “the Second Amendment is not a regulatory straightjacket” and that states retain the authority to enact sensible curbs on guns. The fact that Hawaii historically has done so has produced one of the lowest rates in gun-violence deaths in the nation.

This, above all, is reason to defend maintaining that watchful position, and to pass a consistent and rational measure such as SB 1230.