For the first time since 2006, Hawaii saw a decrease in the number of firearm permits sought by residents, the Hawaii Department of the Attorney General reported Wednesday.
A total of 19,365 personal private/personal firearm permit applications were processed statewide during 2014. That is down 14.9 percent from 2013, when a record 22,765 applications were processed by the state, according to a report prepared by Paul Perrone, chief of research and statistics for the department’s Crime Prevention and Justice Assistance Division.
Hawaii County processed 4,463 permit applications last year. Of those, 4,376 applications were approved and 62 were denied. The total number of firearms registered in 2014 was 10,930, according to statistics contained in the report.
Mirroring the statewide decrease from record-high numbers in 2013, firearm applications and registration also were down in Hawaii County to the tune of about 17 percent and 25 percent, respectively. In 2013, the county processed a record-high 5,355 applications and registered 14,458 firearms.
Kauai County was the lone count to notch a continued upward trend in applications processed and firearms registered in 2014.
Of the more than 19,000 applications processed statewide, 94.5 percent were issued permits. Another 4.8 percent were approved, but permits were not issued because the applicant failed to return for their permit. Just less than 1 percent — or 148 — of the applications were denied for reasons such as prior criminal convictions, pending charges and falsified information, according to the report.
Hawaii Police Department Chief Harry Kubojiri was unable to be reached for comment as of press time Wednesday regarding the decrease in applications processed and firearms registered, and whether that equates to fewer weapons on the Big Island today than one year ago.
The 18,296 permits to acquire firearms were issued statewide during 2014 covered a total of 48,324 weapons. That’s down more than 20 percent from 2013 when a record high of 60,757 firearms were registered. More than half of the firearms were imported from out of state while the remainder were transfers of firearms previously registered in Hawaii.
More than half of those permits issued in 2014 were to acquire rifles and shotguns, while about 46.7 percent were to acquire handguns. Annual permits are issued in order to acquire an unlimited number of rifles and shotguns while single-use permits are issued to acquire specific handguns.
Since the state began compiling data for firearm registration activity 14 years ago, the number of permit applications processed statewide has increased nearly 300 percent while the number of registered firearms increased by about 355 percent, according to Perrone’s report.
Email Chelsea Jensen at cjensen@westhawaiitoday.com.
