Hawaii Gun Laws
REGISTRATION OF ALL
FIREARMS BROUGHT INTO THE STATE
All firearms brought into the State
must be registered within 5 days. Aliens may bring in firearms for 90 days
only for bona fide hunting or target shooting. US citizens do not need a permit
to bring their own firearms into the State.
PERMITS TO
ACQUIRE
Acquiring any firearm within the State requires a permit
from your county chief of police. You must be 21 years old and a U.S. citizen or Green Card Holder.
You must be fingerprinted and photographed for a criminal background check and
affirm by affidavit your mental health and lack of drug or alcohol addiction or
criminal background. You authorize release of your medical history and give the
name and address of your doctor (if any). You are not required to find a doctor
or provide a medical clearance. Your doctor is required to release any mental
health information pertinent to your acquiring firearms. A drunk driving record,
history of serious psychiatric diagnosis, or any treatment for alcohol or drug
abuse will result in denial of your permit. A letter from a physician will be
required to establish that you are “no longer adversely affected” to restore
your ability to possess.
If you are denied a permit because you are
disqualified to possess, the county police must notify you in writing of the
reason for denial. You then have 30 days to transfer all your firearms and
ammunition to a dealer or other authorized person or turn them in to the police.
You must wait 14 days for your initial permit, and the police chief may
require that you wait 14 days for each subsequent permit, at his discretion.
Individual permits to acquire are required for each handgun. You must have a
specific handgun secured before starting a permit to acquire. When your permit
is approved you will have 10 days to acquire the handgun from the seller. After
acquiring the handgun you then have 5 days to register that handgun at the
Firearms Department. A permit to acquire shotguns and rifles is good for one
year from the date of issue for any number of transactions. There is no fee for
permits except for a one time only fee for an FBI fingerprint check. If you have
had a previous check (i.e. had a previous permit for a firearm) you are not
required to pay the fee. The current FBI charge is $42, payable by money
order or certified check, made out to the" Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center".
You must show evidence of safety training to
get a permit to acquire a handgun. Military pistol marksmanship courses (medal
award), law enforcement courses, a Hawaii Hunter Education Course, or a Hawaii Pistol Safety Class( 6-hour
course including 2 hours range time, instruction in Hawaii gun laws, and safe
handling and storage, taught by an NRA certified instructor, with the proper
affidavit, all meet the criteria.)
The Honolulu Police Dept. interprets
this section of law as requiring a new permit to receive your own firearms held
by HPD (see “TRO’s”). You may transfer inherited firearms to a licensed firearms
dealer without going through the permit to acquire process. Present a copy of
the death certificate of the previous owner to the dealer. Proper transfer of
firearms should be part of your and your relatives’ estate planning.
REGISTRATION OF FIREARMS ACQUIRED IN STATE
Firearms
must be registered with the chief of police within five days of acquisition.
Firearms firing loose black powder and antique or deactivated firearms need not
be registered (but are otherwise defined as firearms and other laws apply).
Owners who acquired rifles and shotguns (long guns) in state before July 1,
1994, need not register them. Spouses who meet requirements for a permit to
acquire may jointly register firearms.
Any individual transferring a
long gun must notify the chief of police of the county who issued the permit to
acquire of the name of the individual acquiring the firearm and the make, model,
barrel length, and serial number, within 48 hours of transfer.
PLACE TO KEEP AND CARRY
Concealed carry and open
carry are felonies without a permit to do so from the chief of police of your
county. Although allowed by law in special circumstances of threat to self or
property, the chiefs’ policy at present is to grant only to law enforcement and
those military and security guards whose duties specifically require such.
Private citizens are denied.
You may keep firearms and ammunition in
your home, office, or place of sojourn (where you lodge or sleep). You may
transport directly between these and a firing range, gun class, meeting or show,
the police station, hunting, a gunsmith, and a firearms dealer. Guns must be
transported unloaded, in rigid lockable receptacles or commercial gun containers
that completely enclose the firearm (a commercially produced gun sock meets the
criteria). Unloaded means no ammunition in the chamber, cylinder, or magazine,
if inserted in the firearm. Vehicles carrying loaded guns are subject to seizure
and forfeit.
Note that in the firearms statutes, the word “firearm” is
often followed by the words “and ammunition”. Thus, ammunition, even in the
absence of a firearm, is subject to the same restrictions as firearms in terms
of transport and places to keep and carry.
If a minor under 16 years of
age is likely to gain access to your firearm, without parental permission,
except as provided by law when at a range or hunting, you may be guilty of a
misdemeanor punishable by fine and jail (unless obtained by break-in, etc.).
The owner of a firearm is “absolutely” liable for personal injury or
property damage caused by the discharge of he firearm unless the firearm was
stolen and reasonably reported stolen, or unless the discharge of the firearm
was legally justified. A firearm must be locked up or otherwise reasonably
secured unless carried on the person or in such close proximity that the person
readily can retrieve and use it as if it were carried on the person.
Rifles and shotguns may be loaned for a maximum of 15 days to persons
lawfully able to possess. Another authorized person at a target range may use
any firearm when the owner is present. Handguns otherwise may not be loaned.
Minors 16 years old or older may possess long guns while hunting if
licensed to hunt, and minors age 12-16 may do so when accompanied by an adult.
Hunting with a handgun is permitted subject to hunting rules developed by the
Department of Land and Natural Resources. The chief of police may issue a permit
to aliens eighteen or over for up to 60 days after the alien has obtained a
hunting license. Except for special guided hunts on private preserves, a hunter
education course is required to obtain a Hawaii hunting license. Hawaii
reciprocates with other states.
If you are subject to a restraining
order (TRO) situation brought by someone who says you have firearms and they are
afraid you may threaten with or use them, you must turn in all your firearms and
ammunition to the county police for the duration of that order. The police
officer serving the order may take any firearms or ammunition in sight, may
search for them if invited, and must otherwise get a search warrant. Any police
officer who has reasonable grounds to believe that a person has recently
assaulted or threatened to assault a family or household member may seize
without warrant any firearms or ammunition used or threatened to be used. In
some instances (no TRO issued, lawful possession, no criminal charges pending,
not held as evidence), owners of seized firearms may reclaim them with 7 working
days. Individuals under restraining orders may transfer their firearms to
licensed firearms dealers.
Convicted felons, indicted persons, and those
convicted of violent misdemeanors, including family abuse, by family court may
not possess firearms or ammunition. Only a special Governor’s pardon can restore
gun rights.
FIREARMS PROHIBITED
Full auto (machine
gun) firearms are not permitted in Hawaii except for military and law
enforcement.
“Assault pistols”, defined by several characteristics,
essentially large semi-auto pistols of cosmetic paramilitary appearance, usually
accepting detachable magazines of over 10 rounds capacity, are banned, except
those registered before July 1992 (grand- fathered, may not be transferred).
These include semi auto versions of UZI, Tech-9, etc., and certain large target
pistols. A non-inclusive list is available from the State Attorney General and
county police chiefs.
Hawaii state law prohibits greater than 10 round
detachable pistol magazines. Possession of illegal magazines is a misdemeanor, and
possession of a handgun with even an empty one inserted is a class C felony.
Fully automatic and selective fire weapons (machine guns) are illegal
under Hawaii law (since statehood), as are stun guns, cannon, silencers, hand
grenades, explosives, bombs, Teflon coated ammunition, explosive or segmenting
ammunition, handguns made of zinc allowing melting at less than 800 degrees F
(the legal definition of “Saturday night special”), shotguns with barrels less
than 18 inches and rifles with barrels less that 16 inches.
RECKLESS ENDANGERING
Discharging a firearm toward a
populated area or on or toward a street or road is reckless endangering. This
can apply to private ranges, plinking, accidental discharges, and self-defense
use.
USE OF DEADLY FORCE IN HAWAII
Deadly force is
justifiable only in self-defense or in defense of other innocents where one
reasonably believes death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping, rape, or forcible
sodomy may otherwise result. Use of deadly force for protection of private
property can result in criminal charges. Using deadly force is not justifiable
if it can be safely avoided by retreating or adopting other defensive
strategies, except it is not required in Hawaii, unlike New Jersey, that you
retreat from your home. You cannot justify the use of deadly force defensively
if you initiated its use. Police officers are instructed to make an arrest in
ANY homicide. The prosecutor then decides whether to bring charges.
LIMITED CIVIL LIABILITY, Act 97
The 2010 HI State
Legislature passed a limited civil immunity (Castle Doctrine) bill for home
occupants who use force against a home intruder. If the intruder is convicted of
specified violent felonies associated with home invasion, the home occupants may
not be sued. If the intruder is only committing theft, you are not protected. In
Hawaii you may not hurt someone for stealing your stuff.
FIREARMS SEIZURE DURING AN EMERGENCY, Act 96
The
2010 HI Legislature passed a bill making it unlawful for any government agency
to confiscate lawfully possessed firearms from individuals under natural
disaster circumstances. “Lawfully possessed” means transported according to
statute to a lawful place to keep and carry. You can’t transport someone else’s
handgun. Part of gun owners’ disaster planning should include what to do with
personal firearms and ammunition. Does your emergency shelter permit firearms?
Do you have enough gun cases to transport all the firearms you wish to take with
you? Are the firearms you leave in your residence protected from unauthorized
access if there is structural damage to your home?
SHIPPING AND
TRAVELING WITH FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION
Private persons may not send
firearms across state lines to one another unless they are federally licensed
firearms dealers except to and from a factory or authorized gunsmith for repair
or to ship inherited firearms. Most licensed dealers will ship and receive to
and from another dealer for you for a modest fee. Express shipping companies
will often ship only between dealers. This does not prohibit your own firearms,
including firearms inherited by you, from being shipped directly to you.
Shotguns, rifles, antiques, and muzzle-loading firearms may be shipped by U.S.
Mail. Private citizens may mail shotguns and rifles directly to a dealer.
Registered mail is recommended. You may not otherwise ship ammunition or
handguns by mail. The post office may require you to show or certify in writing
that the firearm is unloaded and certify that the recipient is authorized
according to federal statute. The post office, however, will not provide you
with advice on the federal statutes regarding transporting firearms. Black
powder, its substitutes, or smokeless powder may not be transported by
commercial air or U.S. Mail. It is lawful to ship ammunition for yourself to and
from Hawaii if you may lawfully possess such, but the express costs and red tape
involved often make it prohibitive.
You may travel by commercial air
with your unloaded declared firearms and properly packaged ammunition in checked
luggage. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has guidelines and rules.
They change. Look at the TSA website before you travel with firearms.
http://www.tsa.gov
Also see your airline website for their policies.
They vary between airlines and change. Look under their “restricted items”
section. TSA defers to the airlines if they are more strict.
Take a copy
of both the current TSA guidelines and your airline policy with you when you
travel with firearms. Often the TSA agents and/or the airlines ticket/ baggage
agents do not understand their latest rules and regs. Help them by being
knowledgeable. Arrive early.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES TRY TO BOARD
AN AIRLINER WITH FIREARMS OR AMMUNITION ON YOUR PERSON OR IN CARRY-ON
LUGGAGE!
Know the firearms laws at your destination. Federal
statute states that if you begin your journey in compliance with local laws and
end your journey similarly, then you are in compliance in transit, if your
firearms and ammunition are properly secured (e.g. unloaded and not readily
accessible) despite local laws to the contrary. It may be unwise, however, to
argue this point too vehemently with local law enforcement officers.
CAUTION: State and federal firearms laws are complex and
subject to frequent change. The above review is not to be considered as legal
advice or a restatement of law. Some of it is wrong. To determine the
applicability of HI laws to specific situations you may encounter, you are
strongly urged to consult a qualified local attorney familiar with firearms law.
HRA, (808) 261-2754, has a list of firearms attorneys.
REGISTRATION OF ALL
FIREARMS BROUGHT INTO THE STATE
All firearms brought into the State
must be registered within 5 days. Aliens may bring in firearms for 90 days
only for bona fide hunting or target shooting. US citizens do not need a permit
to bring their own firearms into the State.
PERMITS TO
ACQUIRE
Acquiring any firearm within the State requires a permit
from your county chief of police. You must be 21 years old and a U.S. citizen or Green Card Holder.
You must be fingerprinted and photographed for a criminal background check and
affirm by affidavit your mental health and lack of drug or alcohol addiction or
criminal background. You authorize release of your medical history and give the
name and address of your doctor (if any). You are not required to find a doctor
or provide a medical clearance. Your doctor is required to release any mental
health information pertinent to your acquiring firearms. A drunk driving record,
history of serious psychiatric diagnosis, or any treatment for alcohol or drug
abuse will result in denial of your permit. A letter from a physician will be
required to establish that you are “no longer adversely affected” to restore
your ability to possess.
If you are denied a permit because you are
disqualified to possess, the county police must notify you in writing of the
reason for denial. You then have 30 days to transfer all your firearms and
ammunition to a dealer or other authorized person or turn them in to the police.
You must wait 14 days for your initial permit, and the police chief may
require that you wait 14 days for each subsequent permit, at his discretion.
Individual permits to acquire are required for each handgun. You must have a
specific handgun secured before starting a permit to acquire. When your permit
is approved you will have 10 days to acquire the handgun from the seller. After
acquiring the handgun you then have 5 days to register that handgun at the
Firearms Department. A permit to acquire shotguns and rifles is good for one
year from the date of issue for any number of transactions. There is no fee for
permits except for a one time only fee for an FBI fingerprint check. If you have
had a previous check (i.e. had a previous permit for a firearm) you are not
required to pay the fee. The current FBI charge is $42, payable by money
order or certified check, made out to the" Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center".
You must show evidence of safety training to
get a permit to acquire a handgun. Military pistol marksmanship courses (medal
award), law enforcement courses, a Hawaii Hunter Education Course, or a Hawaii Pistol Safety Class( 6-hour
course including 2 hours range time, instruction in Hawaii gun laws, and safe
handling and storage, taught by an NRA certified instructor, with the proper
affidavit, all meet the criteria.)
The Honolulu Police Dept. interprets
this section of law as requiring a new permit to receive your own firearms held
by HPD (see “TRO’s”). You may transfer inherited firearms to a licensed firearms
dealer without going through the permit to acquire process. Present a copy of
the death certificate of the previous owner to the dealer. Proper transfer of
firearms should be part of your and your relatives’ estate planning.
REGISTRATION OF FIREARMS ACQUIRED IN STATE
Firearms
must be registered with the chief of police within five days of acquisition.
Firearms firing loose black powder and antique or deactivated firearms need not
be registered (but are otherwise defined as firearms and other laws apply).
Owners who acquired rifles and shotguns (long guns) in state before July 1,
1994, need not register them. Spouses who meet requirements for a permit to
acquire may jointly register firearms.
Any individual transferring a
long gun must notify the chief of police of the county who issued the permit to
acquire of the name of the individual acquiring the firearm and the make, model,
barrel length, and serial number, within 48 hours of transfer.
PLACE TO KEEP AND CARRY
Concealed carry and open
carry are felonies without a permit to do so from the chief of police of your
county. Although allowed by law in special circumstances of threat to self or
property, the chiefs’ policy at present is to grant only to law enforcement and
those military and security guards whose duties specifically require such.
Private citizens are denied.
You may keep firearms and ammunition in
your home, office, or place of sojourn (where you lodge or sleep). You may
transport directly between these and a firing range, gun class, meeting or show,
the police station, hunting, a gunsmith, and a firearms dealer. Guns must be
transported unloaded, in rigid lockable receptacles or commercial gun containers
that completely enclose the firearm (a commercially produced gun sock meets the
criteria). Unloaded means no ammunition in the chamber, cylinder, or magazine,
if inserted in the firearm. Vehicles carrying loaded guns are subject to seizure
and forfeit.
Note that in the firearms statutes, the word “firearm” is
often followed by the words “and ammunition”. Thus, ammunition, even in the
absence of a firearm, is subject to the same restrictions as firearms in terms
of transport and places to keep and carry.
If a minor under 16 years of
age is likely to gain access to your firearm, without parental permission,
except as provided by law when at a range or hunting, you may be guilty of a
misdemeanor punishable by fine and jail (unless obtained by break-in, etc.).
The owner of a firearm is “absolutely” liable for personal injury or
property damage caused by the discharge of he firearm unless the firearm was
stolen and reasonably reported stolen, or unless the discharge of the firearm
was legally justified. A firearm must be locked up or otherwise reasonably
secured unless carried on the person or in such close proximity that the person
readily can retrieve and use it as if it were carried on the person.
Rifles and shotguns may be loaned for a maximum of 15 days to persons
lawfully able to possess. Another authorized person at a target range may use
any firearm when the owner is present. Handguns otherwise may not be loaned.
Minors 16 years old or older may possess long guns while hunting if
licensed to hunt, and minors age 12-16 may do so when accompanied by an adult.
Hunting with a handgun is permitted subject to hunting rules developed by the
Department of Land and Natural Resources. The chief of police may issue a permit
to aliens eighteen or over for up to 60 days after the alien has obtained a
hunting license. Except for special guided hunts on private preserves, a hunter
education course is required to obtain a Hawaii hunting license. Hawaii
reciprocates with other states.
If you are subject to a restraining
order (TRO) situation brought by someone who says you have firearms and they are
afraid you may threaten with or use them, you must turn in all your firearms and
ammunition to the county police for the duration of that order. The police
officer serving the order may take any firearms or ammunition in sight, may
search for them if invited, and must otherwise get a search warrant. Any police
officer who has reasonable grounds to believe that a person has recently
assaulted or threatened to assault a family or household member may seize
without warrant any firearms or ammunition used or threatened to be used. In
some instances (no TRO issued, lawful possession, no criminal charges pending,
not held as evidence), owners of seized firearms may reclaim them with 7 working
days. Individuals under restraining orders may transfer their firearms to
licensed firearms dealers.
Convicted felons, indicted persons, and those
convicted of violent misdemeanors, including family abuse, by family court may
not possess firearms or ammunition. Only a special Governor’s pardon can restore
gun rights.
FIREARMS PROHIBITED
Full auto (machine
gun) firearms are not permitted in Hawaii except for military and law
enforcement.
“Assault pistols”, defined by several characteristics,
essentially large semi-auto pistols of cosmetic paramilitary appearance, usually
accepting detachable magazines of over 10 rounds capacity, are banned, except
those registered before July 1992 (grand- fathered, may not be transferred).
These include semi auto versions of UZI, Tech-9, etc., and certain large target
pistols. A non-inclusive list is available from the State Attorney General and
county police chiefs.
Hawaii state law prohibits greater than 10 round
detachable pistol magazines. Possession of illegal magazines is a misdemeanor, and
possession of a handgun with even an empty one inserted is a class C felony.
Fully automatic and selective fire weapons (machine guns) are illegal
under Hawaii law (since statehood), as are stun guns, cannon, silencers, hand
grenades, explosives, bombs, Teflon coated ammunition, explosive or segmenting
ammunition, handguns made of zinc allowing melting at less than 800 degrees F
(the legal definition of “Saturday night special”), shotguns with barrels less
than 18 inches and rifles with barrels less that 16 inches.
RECKLESS ENDANGERING
Discharging a firearm toward a
populated area or on or toward a street or road is reckless endangering. This
can apply to private ranges, plinking, accidental discharges, and self-defense
use.
USE OF DEADLY FORCE IN HAWAII
Deadly force is
justifiable only in self-defense or in defense of other innocents where one
reasonably believes death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping, rape, or forcible
sodomy may otherwise result. Use of deadly force for protection of private
property can result in criminal charges. Using deadly force is not justifiable
if it can be safely avoided by retreating or adopting other defensive
strategies, except it is not required in Hawaii, unlike New Jersey, that you
retreat from your home. You cannot justify the use of deadly force defensively
if you initiated its use. Police officers are instructed to make an arrest in
ANY homicide. The prosecutor then decides whether to bring charges.
LIMITED CIVIL LIABILITY, Act 97
The 2010 HI State
Legislature passed a limited civil immunity (Castle Doctrine) bill for home
occupants who use force against a home intruder. If the intruder is convicted of
specified violent felonies associated with home invasion, the home occupants may
not be sued. If the intruder is only committing theft, you are not protected. In
Hawaii you may not hurt someone for stealing your stuff.
FIREARMS SEIZURE DURING AN EMERGENCY, Act 96
The
2010 HI Legislature passed a bill making it unlawful for any government agency
to confiscate lawfully possessed firearms from individuals under natural
disaster circumstances. “Lawfully possessed” means transported according to
statute to a lawful place to keep and carry. You can’t transport someone else’s
handgun. Part of gun owners’ disaster planning should include what to do with
personal firearms and ammunition. Does your emergency shelter permit firearms?
Do you have enough gun cases to transport all the firearms you wish to take with
you? Are the firearms you leave in your residence protected from unauthorized
access if there is structural damage to your home?
SHIPPING AND
TRAVELING WITH FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION
Private persons may not send
firearms across state lines to one another unless they are federally licensed
firearms dealers except to and from a factory or authorized gunsmith for repair
or to ship inherited firearms. Most licensed dealers will ship and receive to
and from another dealer for you for a modest fee. Express shipping companies
will often ship only between dealers. This does not prohibit your own firearms,
including firearms inherited by you, from being shipped directly to you.
Shotguns, rifles, antiques, and muzzle-loading firearms may be shipped by U.S.
Mail. Private citizens may mail shotguns and rifles directly to a dealer.
Registered mail is recommended. You may not otherwise ship ammunition or
handguns by mail. The post office may require you to show or certify in writing
that the firearm is unloaded and certify that the recipient is authorized
according to federal statute. The post office, however, will not provide you
with advice on the federal statutes regarding transporting firearms. Black
powder, its substitutes, or smokeless powder may not be transported by
commercial air or U.S. Mail. It is lawful to ship ammunition for yourself to and
from Hawaii if you may lawfully possess such, but the express costs and red tape
involved often make it prohibitive.
You may travel by commercial air
with your unloaded declared firearms and properly packaged ammunition in checked
luggage. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has guidelines and rules.
They change. Look at the TSA website before you travel with firearms.
http://www.tsa.gov
Also see your airline website for their policies.
They vary between airlines and change. Look under their “restricted items”
section. TSA defers to the airlines if they are more strict.
Take a copy
of both the current TSA guidelines and your airline policy with you when you
travel with firearms. Often the TSA agents and/or the airlines ticket/ baggage
agents do not understand their latest rules and regs. Help them by being
knowledgeable. Arrive early.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES TRY TO BOARD
AN AIRLINER WITH FIREARMS OR AMMUNITION ON YOUR PERSON OR IN CARRY-ON
LUGGAGE!
Know the firearms laws at your destination. Federal
statute states that if you begin your journey in compliance with local laws and
end your journey similarly, then you are in compliance in transit, if your
firearms and ammunition are properly secured (e.g. unloaded and not readily
accessible) despite local laws to the contrary. It may be unwise, however, to
argue this point too vehemently with local law enforcement officers.
CAUTION: State and federal firearms laws are complex and
subject to frequent change. The above review is not to be considered as legal
advice or a restatement of law. Some of it is wrong. To determine the
applicability of HI laws to specific situations you may encounter, you are
strongly urged to consult a qualified local attorney familiar with firearms law.
HRA, (808) 261-2754, has a list of firearms attorneys.
