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After Supreme Court Blow To Gun Restrictions, What's Next For Hawai‘i?

CB: … Other recent court decisions have struck down aspects of Hawaiʻi’s permitting system. For example, an April ruling allows non-state residents to apply for concealed carry permits in Hawaiʻi, as long as they join the Hawaiʻi Rifle Association. Another ruling from 2024 allows U.S. nationals who are not American citizens to apply for those permits.

Hawaiʻi’s age restrictions on gun ownership also are facing a legal challenge that is pending in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Aspiring gun owners must currently be 21 or older before they can buy a firearm or ammunition here. …

Alan Beck, a San Diego-based attorney who represented plaintiffs in the recent Supreme Court case, said he sees the recent changes to Hawaiʻi laws as victories for gun owners. He is also representing plaintiffs in the age restriction case, including a Hawaiʻi resident and aspiring gun owner who was 19 when the original lawsuit was filed.

“I can’t wait to see a day when my clients, my friends that live there, my family, are able to live in a state that has, you know, sensible gun laws,” he said, “that don’t unduly restrict people’s right to keep and bear arms.” 

Another recent change he achieved, he said, was getting the City and County of Honolulu to remove its “Guns Not Allowed” signage from all of its city buses. That change didn’t take a court case, just a conversation with the city’s attorney. Beck reached out and highlighted the fact that state law permits gun owners to ride public transit with their firearms….

The law that was partially struck down Thursday was passed in 2023 in response to another Supreme Court decision that upended how concealed carry permits are granted in Hawaiʻi. That decision, commonly known as the Bruen decision, forced the state to broaden who is allowed to carry concealed firearms in public. 

Before Bruen, police chiefs in Hawaiʻi had discretion over who could get a concealed carry permit, and applicants had to show they had an urgent need to carry a gun for self defense. The Supreme Court ruled that requiring people to prove a need in order to exercise their Second Amendment right was unconstitutional. 

In turn, Hawaiʻi police departments started issuing thousands of concealed carry permits. Before the decision, virtually no one had a concealed carry permit. As of last year, more than 3,700 permits had been issued across the state, according to the Attorney General’s Office. 

Legislators acted quickly to pass bills they thought would help ease the impact of the decision. In 2023, they passed Act 52, which banned guns from private property without the express permission of the property owner. Though since then that provision has been struck down, other aspects of the law still stand, including its ban on guns in public areas such as parks and beaches. 

Despite the Supreme Court ruling, lawmakers and advocates say Hawaiʻi still has some of the most robust gun laws in the nation. For example, the state has a lengthy set of requirements an applicant must meet to receive a concealed carry permit, including being 21 or older, completing a firearms safety training course, passing a background check and waiting 14 days. 

One of the only remaining improvements the state can feasibly make to its gun laws is to pass an assault rifle ban like the one that failed on the Senate floor last year, said state Rep. David Tarnas, chair of the House Judiciary Committee. …

SA: Hawaii AG to review Supreme Court decision on gun law | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Read … After Supreme Court Blow To Gun Restrictions, What's Next For Hawai‘i? - Honolulu Civil Beat

Green to Sign $21B Budget Bill Funded by Massive Tax Increase Today

SA: … The state’s $21 billion budget over the next two fiscal years will be signed by Gov. Josh Green today, ensuring Hawaii’s historic tax breaks for all but (increases for) the highest-earning residents.

The budget also funds most of the recommendations for how to spend $129 million in new climate fees — paid mostly by tourists (which increase the cost of a Hawaii vacation, thus reducing revenues to independent tour companies) — and increases state funding for SNAP, Medicaid and Affordable Care Act benefits that were cut by the Trump Administration (even though employers are dying for lack of job applicants).

“The budget ends up being a reflection of our priorities, plus deals with the realities that came with the federal government’s decreased resources,” Green told the Honolulu Star- Advertiser. “We’re very satisfied that the Legislature did a strong job giving us a balanced budget that maintains (eliminates) the tax breaks (for the most productive people), which is super important. The tax breaks for (other) working families survived completely and that’s a good thing.”…

Read … Green to sign budget that restores tax cuts for most | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

140 Kauai Coffee Jobs Saved Through New Land Lease Agreement

CB: … The new lease comes after several months of uncertainty about the coffee grower’s future….

HNN: Kauai Coffee secures future of historic farm with new lease | Hawaii News Now

Read … 140 Kauai Coffee Jobs Saved Through New Land Lease Agreement - Honolulu Civil Beat

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QUICK HITS:

1. Big Q: Do you agree with the Supreme Court rejecting Hawaii’s law that restricts guns on private property (e.g., stores and diners)? | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
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11. DLNR News Release – FIRST PACIFIC CLIMATE SUMMIT CONCLUDES WITH JOINT COMMITMENT TO REGIONAL RESILIENCE, June 25, 2026 | Governor Josh Green, M.D.
12. 2606122-ATG_Thirty-First-Proclamation-Relating-to-Wildfires.pdf
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