Honolulu Bill 57: Concealed Carry Gun Restrictions

News Release from HIFICO, Nov 15, 2022

On November 10th Honolulu Council Chair Tommy Waters submitted Bill 57 to the Honolulu City Council. This bill will restrict WHERE AND WHEN a person may LEGALLY carry a firearm in Honolulu.

As we have seen in Hawaii county and various other parts of the country, these bills are a knee-jerk reaction to the Bruen decision. The most common reason being cited in Hawaii is "People in Hawaii aren't used to seeing people with guns." Peoples’ feeling on the matter are irrelevant. How someone else feels about a right has no bearing on others exercising it. But more importantly, in the matter … we are talking about concealed carry. No one is going to know whos carrying a legal firearm.

We are currently waiting on the bill to be scheduled for a hearing, and at that time, EVERYONE best be ready to submit testimony and make calls.

While you're waiting, head on over to the County of Hawaii bill page and submit testimony on their bill … LINK  

The bill was introduced on behalf of City Manager Michael D. Formby, saying, "The proposed bill would define those sensitive locations within the City and County of Honolulu ("City") where the carrying of firearms is prohibited, consistent with an individual's Second Amendment right to bear arms. The bill would also facilitate communication regarding an individual's ability to bring firearms onto the private property of a business or charitable organization, so as to ease public confusion, facilitate private decision-making, and avoid individual confrontations on private property."

The bill intends to introduce a list of prohibited places, including:

-All areas within or on City-owned or controlled buildings or offices.

-All areas within or on buildings or offices owned or controlled by the United States or the State.

-Schools, child care facilities, and places frequented by children.

-All public parks, during each park's operating hours

-Shelters and residential facilities operated by a government entity or a charitable organization.

-Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve.

-Hawaii Children's Discovery Center.

-Honolulu Aquarium.

-Honolulu Zoo.

-Voter service centers, places of deposit, and their appurtenances, and an area of two hundred feet from the perimeter of any voter service center, place of deposit, and its appurtenances.

Public transportation facilities, including Vehicles used for public transportation by air, sea, or land, including rail, TheBus, Handi-Van, or ship.

-Any building, structure, or grounds, used for or in connection with providing passenger transportation by air, sea, or land, including harbors, rail stations, and bus terminals (including Handi-Van terminals). This includes stops for TheBus that have a shelter overhang or roof.

-First Amendment expressive activities: within a distance of 100 feet of the outer edge of any group of 25 or more people, in a public place as that term is defined in Section 29-1.1, engaged in expressive activities involving speech or conduct, the principal object of which is the expression, dissemination, or communication by verbal, visual, literary, or auditory means of political, religious, philosophical, or ideological opinions, views, or ideas.

It further prohibits the carrying of firearms for self-defense on private property without consent.

"it is a violation of this article for any person to ... carry on their person a firearm ... on the premises of any business establishment or charitable establishment unless the business establishment or charitable establishment, or an agent thereof, has expressly consented thereto."

You can view the bill in full here: LINK