Honolulu has agreed to expedite the process of granting or denying applications to carry guns in public within four months of submission, following a lawsuit filed by residents who complained of delays of up to a year. This decision comes in response to a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision that affirmed people’s right to carry firearms for self-defense. Before this ruling, Hawaii had some of the strictest gun laws in the country, with county police chiefs rarely issuing licenses for open or concealed carry. The lawsuit alleged that Honolulu intentionally delayed the process to keep the permitting system restrictive, even after the Supreme Court decision.
Alan Beck, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs, stated that the delays in obtaining concealed carry licenses indicated a lack of commitment on the city’s part towards allowing citizens to exercise their Second Amendment rights. While representatives for Honolulu and city police did not comment on the agreement immediately, the city has agreed to make efforts to implement an online application system by a specified date. This move is seen as a step towards ensuring that individuals have the right to protect themselves, as affirmed by the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Second Amendment.
A similar lawsuit is currently underway in Los Angeles, where residents are also challenging permitting delays of over a year. However, Honolulu is not facing the same volume of applications as Los Angeles, with statistics showing that the city processed and approved 1,577 carry licenses in 2023. The agreement in Honolulu is seen as a positive development towards streamlining the process of applying for and obtaining permits to carry firearms in public. The involvement of the Hawaii Firearms Coalition as a plaintiff in the case highlights the advocacy for Second Amendment rights in the state.
The stipulation signed by a federal judge requires Honolulu to respond to applications for carrying guns in public within 120 days of submission, a significant improvement from the long delays that residents had faced previously. The city’s commitment to implementing an online application system by a specified date further indicates a move towards modernizing the process and making it more efficient for applicants. The lawyers representing the plaintiffs emphasized the importance of upholding individuals’ rights to self-defense, as recognized by the Supreme Court’s decision, and expressed hope that this agreement would lead to greater access to concealed carry permits in Honolulu.
