Possibly in anticipation of what Hawaii politicians consider think will be an adverse Supreme Court ruling that will require the state to actually issue carry permits to civilians, the state’s Democrats have proposed their latest piece of anti-gun legislation that’s aimed at making life for lawful gun owners as difficult and expensive as possible.
SB-2800 would would cut carry permit terms to only six months. Each new permit application would require 22 hours of training, including two hours of live fire drills. And if the bill becomes law, Hawaiians with government permission slips will also be required to strap on a TASER when carrying their firearm.
As the bill states . . .
…The legislature believes it is prudent for anyone carrying a firearm to also carry a non—lethal electric gun, also known as a taser, to ensure a non—lethal option to minimize the risk of unintended injuries or fatalities in difficult situations.
The purpose of this Act is to ensure public safety by improving the training of individuals who are licensed to carry handguns by:
(1) Requiring all individuals to undergo additional training before applying for or renewing a license to carry a handgun;
(2) Requiring any individual applying for or renewing a license to carry a handgun to undergo the same review as an individual applying for or renewing a license to carry a handgun;
(3) Reducing the term of a license to carry a handgun from one year to six months to ensure those permitted are properly trained at all times; and
(4) Requiring non—lethal electric guns, also known as tasers, to be carried when carrying a firearm.
This is clearly a punitive measure designed to discourage as many Hawaii residents as possible from exercising their Second Amendment Rights.
How bad are things in the Aloha State now? Hawaii may technically be a “may issue” state, but in practical terms, they’re a no-issue state.
The attorney general issues an annual report listing the number of firearm and carry permits that have been approved or denied. It looks like each report just reprints the last paragraph from the previous year. The 2018, 2019, and 2020 all say the same thing when it comes to carry permits issues: “all…applicants were denied by the respective county’s police chief.”
I asked Andrew Roberts, Director of the Hawaii Firearms Coalition, why would anyone propose a bill like this when Hawaii never approves carry permits anyway.
“The bill is nothing but an attempt at political grandstanding. Chris Lee, the senator who introduced it, is pandering to his political extreme left base. He knows the bill won’t move forward and has no chance of passing but introduced it to show how supportive of ‘common-sense gun laws’ he is.”
The state estimates there are over two million privately owned firearms in the state, but they admit their recording keeping is something of a mess, so that’s a wild guess.
Like most parts of of the country, Hawaii has some issues that might be of concern these days. Issues that might cause reasonable citizens to want to carry a firearm on a regular basis. Issues like not having enough police officers on the job.
The union representing Maui’s police officers said, “the staffing crisis must be addressed with a sense of urgency.” Their department is currently operating with only three out of four positions filled. Honolulu’s police union said staffing issues there are “putting people’s lives in danger,” and “Your cover officer might be coming from 10 miles away.”
When seconds count . . . .
Hawaii politicians apparently have no intention of issuing carry permits unless and until they’re forced to by the Supreme Court. And even then, they’re setting themselves up for another court fight by enacting onerous restrictions on those who choose to exercise their Second Amendment rights.