HAWAII FIREARMS REGISTRATION LAWS AND POLICIES INFRINGE ON THE RIGHTS OF GUN OWNERS

News Release from Hawaii Firearms Coalition, October 24, 2019 

Honolulu, Hawaii - Lawyers Alan Beck and Stephen Stamboulieh filed a lawsuit in the Hawaii Federal District Court today, on behalf of Hawaii Firearms Coalition Director, Todd Todd Yukutake, and Hawaii Firearm’s Coalition Member, David Kikukawa.

The lawsuit alleges that Hawaii's requirement to transport a firearm to a police station for registration and Honolulu Police Department policies for the acquisition and registration of firearms is burdensome and unconstitutional.

Hawaii's law currently requires that any person applying for a permit to acquire a firearm must do so in person at a police station. On Oahu, this means going to the main police station on South Beretania Street. State law also requires a person who obtains or brings a firearm into the state to register it at the same location. When combined with Honolulu police department’s policy that a person picks up a permit themselves after waiting 14 days, often means three separate trips to the station on three separate days when obtaining a firearm. Department policy limits the time and days people can pick up permits to Monday to Friday (excluding holidays) between the hours of 7:45 am and 3 pm and gives them a limited time frame to do so.

The limited time frame and multiple trips can be alleviated by the Honolulu Police Department, merely changing their policies to allow better access for people to complete the process. There is no reason not to open later in the day and on weekends and in doing so allowing people to obtain permits or register firearms outside of regular business hours. The department's policy currently has a chilling effect on gun ownership in the state as people are unable or unwilling to take time off work during the workweek to go through the process to obtain one.

The state laws requiring the transportation of a firearm to the police station to register it have already been ruled on by the D.C. Circuit Court and were found unconstitutional. We expect the same to be found in this situation. As a person is required to show ID and have a permit to acquire a firearm before purchasing one, registration could be handled by the gun store, who are all ready required by law to send the same information to the police department.

A copy of the complaint can be found here: www.shorturl.at/eqtOQ