The new state and county gun laws that took effect on Monday have the potential of keeping some needed controls on the proliferation of firearms, including “ghost guns” that are hard to rein in. Among the improvements for Oahu is an increase in training requirements affecting applicants for each new gun permit.

With guns much more present in public now, the restrictions and mandates that are clear-cut must be enforced aggressively to protect the population at large.

Before the public-safety concerns can be resolved, however, lawmakers must review whether county and state statutes align well — some technical contradictions have been pointed out.

More important are the court challenges that are being waged here and across the country. In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a citizen’s right to carry a gun beyond his or her own property is protected by the U.S. Constitution.

The so-called Bruen ruling did allow for limited “sensitive places” to be defined where guns could be restricted, and a cascade of laws nationwide attempting to name such places stemmed from that.

Hawaii rightly has a stronger regulatory approach to guns than other states, so lawmakers moved quickly to put boundaries in place, coming up with a sensitive-places list, including schools, hospitals and government buildings. The Honolulu City Council did the same, and the Honolulu Police Department is in the midst of refining the rules for Oahu.

The public will get a chance to weigh in on proposed changes to the rules governing the powers of the police chief as they affect gun permits. A hearing is slated for 10 a.m. Tuesday at the HPD main station.

One proposed rule (posted at honolulupd.org/police-services/firearms) would require anyone seeking a permit to acquire a new gun to pass a safety class, whether or not they already have permitted guns. This change will ensure that all gun-holders have up-to-date safety training, and could save lives.

And for its part, the state in October conducted a gun-amnesty buyback program, one that should continue.

It will be crucial for HPD to hear where Oahu residents, both gun owners and those rightly advocating for controls, stand on its regulatory efforts.

But one burning legal question about the new statewide gun law is over where firearms can be carried, a challenge that extends beyond rulemaking for the chief of police. In June the Hawaii Firearms Coalition, along with Jason and Alison Wolford and Atom Kasprzycki, filed a federal lawsuit challenging sections of the new state law, Act 52, which Gov. Josh Green had just signed.

In August the court sided with the plaintiffs in part. For now, the restrictions on carrying guns at schools, hospitals and government buildings will be enforced while the bans affecting parks, private establishments and other places undergo further scrutiny.

The case was next taken to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, where numerous gun advocacy groups have added support. That same court on Saturday ruled in favor of California’s law banning the carrying of guns in most public places. Also recently, a similar law in New York was struck down on appeal to different federal appellate justices.

Conflicting rulings among appellate court circuits make it almost certain the question will land again before the nation’s high court. At least until then, advocates for maintaining public safety have their work cut out for them. They must not be silent.

Hawaii has had one of the lowest rates of gun crimes in the country. It would be tragic to see that trend reversed, given the pattern of escalating violence that’s already evident.