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, marking the first decrease in applications seeking permits since 2006. That also down 14.9 percent from 2013 when a record high 22,765 applications were processed by the state, according to the 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 during that 12-month period. 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 Perrone’s report.
Mirroring the statewide decrease from record-high numbers in 2013, firearm applications and registration were also down in Hawaii County, to the tune of about 17 percent and 25 percent, respectively. In 2013, the county processed a record-high than 5,355 applications and registered 14,458 firearms.
Kauai County was the lone county in the state 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 under 1 percent — or 148 — of the applications were denied for reasons such as prior criminal convictions, pending charges and falsified information, according to Perrone’s report.
Hawaii Police Department Chief Harry Kubojiri was unable to be reached for comment as of press time on 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 covering 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 the 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.
It is a misdemeanor in Hawaii to provide falsified information on firearm applications, unless the falsified information pertains to criminal or mental health histories, in which case it is a felony offense, according to the Attorney General.