The effort to contain the use of guns, along with gun violence, has become more complicated and difficult since 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court upended accepted jurisprudence with New York State Rifle &Pistol Association v. Bruen. That case found that the Constitution’s Second Amendment broadly grants U.S. citizens a right to carry weapons in public — contradicting longstanding determinations by many state and local municipalities in the process.
Bruen upended Hawaii’s gun laws. Local governments were forced to alter rules for granting a permit to carry weapons in public — and to grant them, except in limited circumstances. And local governments’ ability to define areas where guns can be carried was scaled back.
The U.S. Supreme Court allowed for exceptions to the right to carry in “sensitive places,” but opined that these sensitive locations should be defined from the viewpoint of the Founding Fathers of the 18th century — either by direct comparison, or by extrapolating restrictions of that time to present-day circumstances. And if that definition sounds extraordinarily difficult to pin down, be assured,
it is.
In quick, needed response, a new 2023 Hawaii law — Act 52 — outlined such sensitive locations where guns are not allowed in the islands. Among them: parks and beaches; government buildings and their parking lots; banks; and bars and restaurants serving alcohol.
Act 52 also states that firearms cannot legally be carried onto another’s private property unless there is “express authorization” in the form of a sign granting permission.
As anticipated, Hawaii’s definition of “sensitive locations” was challenged in federal court. The case, combined with an appeal of California’s new rules, reached the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals this year. A decision by a three-judge panel on Sept. 6 upheld several Hawaii limitations — fortunately — but invalidated others.
That 9th Circuit opinion will allow Hawaii to enforce Act 52 provisions making it a crime to carry guns in parks, playgrounds, courthouses and alcohol-serving establishments. The ruling also keeps in place Hawaii’s ban against guns in businesses that do not specifically grant permission.
However, the 9th Circuit found that Hawaii cannot ban guns in banks — a ruling that seems destined to result in mayhem. California law banning guns in churches and hospitals, also sites where guns have no place in contemporary society, was also invalidated.
Troublingly, the federal appellate court’s ruling allows for guns on public transit. And in a finding that exposes the absurdity in this kind of deliberation, the court ruled that while states can prohibit guns in public buildings, an adjacent parking lot that’s shared with a private enterprise can’t be restricted.
The judicial effort to channel the wishes of the nation’s “Founders” is bound to result in these kinds of nonsensical findings. As Hawaii Supreme Court Justice Todd Eddins stated in a previous gun-related ruling, “The spirit of Aloha clashes with a federally-mandated lifestyle that lets citizens walk around with deadly weapons during day-to-day activities.”
Hawaii has enjoyed a relative safety from gun violence precisely because of its high level of regulation. With federal court decisions hampering local restrictions, it will fall to local lawmakers and law enforcement to find ways of discouraging the proliferation of guns and gun violence.
Vigilance will be required. After the 2022 Bruen ruling, the number of Oahu people seeking a license to carry a weapon surged, from just a handful, to 2,468 in 2023. Of those, more than 98% (2,421) were approved.
As thousands of would-be gun carriers obtain these licenses, Hawaii faces a much different calculus than it has even in years before statehood or territorial status. In fact, as far back as 1833, King Kamehameha III established a prohibition on deadly weapons including knives and swords in the islands — evidence that Hawaii has a long tradition against deadly arms.
One viable course may be found in Hawaii’s new law regulating ammunition. As of July, the state prohibits selling ammunition to anyone under 21, except for hunting and target shooting. Aggressive rooting out of ghost guns, assembled by users with parts that cannot be traced back to a point of sale, is also necessary.
On Sept. 3, a 20-year-old man was arrested in Waianae after he allegedly “displayed a firearm in a public area” during an argument with a woman, according to the Honolulu Police Department. The suspect was also arrested for possessing “unauthorized firearm parts” with no serial number — another way to describe a ghost gun — and for unlawfully possessing ammunition.
With the combined efforts of police, prosecutors, courts and legislators, Hawaii must continue to seek all lawful avenues to minimize the presence of guns and ammunition in the public sphere — and to use all tools available to deter and punish those who unlawfully brandish deadly weapons.
