Big Island: Gun License Denial Leads to Lawsuit

from HiFiCo, Dec 6, 2023

A new lawsuit was filed today against the County of Hawaii. Mr Day reached out to HIFICO a couple of weeks ago after being arbitrarily denied a license to carry firearms. We put him in contact with attorneys Alan Beck and Rick Holcombe, who filed today's lawsuit on his behalf.

Here are the details of the lawsuit;

The plaintiff, Mr. Day, works as an independent contractor for a company that provides property preservation services for real estate obtained through foreclosure proceedings. In January 2023, Mr. Day received a work order to clean and secure a property in Volcano, HI. Believing the property had been foreclosed upon, Mr. Day entered the property to perform the required work.

However, the owner of the property, who had previously vacated the property, became aware of Mr. Day's presence through a doorbell camera. This led to a confrontation between the owner and Mr. Day, during which Mr. Day used a chemical irritant device in self-defense. Despite the confrontation, the two parties de-escalated before the police arrived, and neither party was arrested.

The lawsuit focuses on the denial of Mr. Day's application for a concealed carry permit by the Hawaii Police Department (HPD). The denial cited Mr. Day's involvement in "recent violent conduct" based on the aforementioned confrontation.

The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of Hawaii's firearm permitting scheme, arguing that it grants law enforcement officials too much discretion in determining an applicant's suitability, violating Second Amendment rights. The complaint also points to recent legal developments, such as the Supreme Court's decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n, Inc. v. Bruen, to support the claim that the permitting scheme is unconstitutional.

Mr. Day seeks relief from the court, asserting that the denial of his concealed carry permit based on discretionary factors violates his Second Amendment rights and challenging the constitutionality of Hawaii's firearm permitting laws.