Hawaii Curbs Gun Violence

According to the Violence Policy Center (VPC), The Aloha state has fewer deaths by gunfire per 100,000 residents than any other state. The VPC attributes this to a no-nonsense attitude by state officials concerning the purchase, registration, licensing, transportation and use of all types of firearms.

VPC statistics show that in Hawaii, household gun ownership is estimated at 9.7 percent, lower than any other state. The reduced number of guns translates directly into a Shooting death rate of just 2.2 per 100,000 inhabitants. In other words, fewer guns mean fewer people on the street shot and killed each year.

This conclusion contradicts the position as the National Rifle Association (NRA), who argued for years that more and nothing less, the weapons should be in circulation, to "ensure the safety of law-abiding citizens."

The most dangerous state of Louisiana, where an estimated 45.6 percent of households have at least one firearm. L 'death rate there per 100,000 is an astounding 19.04-almost ten times higher than the rate in Hawaii. Other states with high rates of gun ownership and corresponding high gunfire death rates include Alaska, Montana, Tennessee and Alabama.

Virginia (my state) ranks somewhere near the middle, with a household firearm ownership rate of 35.9 percent, and a gunfire death rate of 11.7 per 100,000. Still, that is five times more than the islands that make up the state of Hawaii.

Rules concerning firearms in Hawaii are strict. According to the Legal Community Against Violence (LCAV), they include:

• No person may carry a concealed or unconcealed pistol or revolver without a license to do so; however, permits for concealed weapons are rarely approved.
• Hawaii has no provisions allowing concealed weapons permit holders from other states to carry concealed firearms. This includes police officers from other states who are in Hawaii on official business.
• Persons who wish to purchase firearms must apply for a permit from the county chief of police, who "enforces the federal purchaser prohibitions." Then 14 days later the purchaser can pick up the gun.
• Magazines of 10 rounds or more are banned.
• Assault rifles and assault pistols are banned.
• No person shall be issued a permit for the acquisition of a pistol or revolver unless the person has completed a six-hour firearms safety training course.
• All firearms and ammunition must be registered with the chief of police of the county where the gun owner resides.
• It is unlawful to possess or carry a loaded firearm on any public highway without a permit to carry.
• When firearms are sold, even privately, the transferor is required to provide the name of the person to whom the firearm was transferred and a description of the firearm to the chief of police via registered mail within 48 hours.
• The owner of a gun is guilty of "negligent storage of a firearm" if it is held, where a small risk of having access to it.
• All firearms permits must be renewed annually.
• During a national emergency, can be kept all the weapons seized from retailers and taking possession of the state.

As a question on the report VPA and related statistics, Maxwell Cooper, legislative co-chairman for the Hawaii Rifle Association (dissolvedwith the NRA), told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, "I think that VPC has juggled the statistics to support themselves." He added that, in his opinion, "Strict laws have no relationship to criminal abuse of firearms because criminals don't respond to laws."

Still, visitors to Hawaii as well as residents have little to fear from gun violence. Thoughtful citizens can attribute that to whatever they wish.