Concealed-carry weapon license issued on Oahu

Peter Boylan, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser
·2 min read
8

Dec. 30—The first concealed-carry weapon license was issued in Honolulu on Thursday as police work their way through about 600 applications from citizens seeking to bear arms in public.

The first concealed-carry weapon license was issued in Honolulu on Thursday as police work their way through about 600 applications from citizens seeking to bear arms in public.

Honolulu Police Chief Arthur "Joe " Logan told reporters at a news conference that he expects to approve about eight more before the end of the year. There are currently 59 completed applications from 41 people, some with multiple firearms, that are being reviewed. Logan has not rejected any applications.

"We have almost 600 applicants, " Logan said. "If you think of the total population of the city and county of Honolulu, around a million people ... that's a very small number of people interested in a license to carry or at least wanting their Second Amendment right to carry a firearm."

Any application that HPD received by Nov. 20 is valid for 90 days.

In November, amendments to Chapter 15 of the Rules of the Chief of Police were finalized, the first such changes since the administration of former Chief Francis Keala in 1982. The amendments cleared the way for HPD to now process applications and issue licenses.

The changes helped HPD comply with the U.S. Supreme Court's June ruling in the case of New York State Rifle &Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen.

The court struck down a New York state law limiting who can have a permit to carry a pistol outside their home.

Honolulu was the last county in Hawaii to begin issuing CCW licenses because it had to follow county procedures for amending the chief's rules.

Logan has said HPD took a patient approach to ensure it balanced the Second Amendment rights of gun owners to bear arms with public safety and Hawaii's culture, which is unaccustomed to anyone but law enforcement carrying guns in public.

The processing of the applications is being managed with the resources the department already has allocated for firearm registration and permitting.