Transporting guns hasn't changed, has to be covered.  Soft case, cardboard box, etc.  However if you leave the gun unattended, like stop at a restroom going to the range, it has to be in a secure impact resistant  locked case.  Something not easily opened. 

To be clear, I'm not talking about flying with guns, just driving around with them to/ from the place of use or place of sojourn.

I don't recall Hawaii law drawing any distinctions between a gun being attended or not.
Is there official text that talks about this?

From what I recall from my safety class, the instructor said you couldn't stop at a restroom or gas station or even drive-through with guns in the car as those are not "places of sojourn".

You bring up a fourth question I've heard different things about:

4) Can a gun or ammo be left in a car?

My interpretation has been this is fine as long as the car is somewhere you can legally have a gun.


Another confusing thing is how guns used by the movie industry seem to have different rules for transport and storage. I've seen people cite this language not realizing it was only pertinent to film making.

Theres the federal gun free school zone law.

Federal law is that you can't have a gun within 1000' of a school even if it is in a locked container?

Federal law is that you can't have a gun within 1000' of a school even if it is in a locked container?

Thanks guys, so please correct me if I'm wrong in my understanding:

1) State Law: Unloaded firearms can be carried in "a rigidly constructed receptacle, or a commercially manufactured gun case, or the equivalent thereof that completely encloses the firearm."

That's the catch-all clause.  People use the manufacturer's cardboard shipping box, USPS shipping boxes, backpacks, pistol rugs, and even garbage bags to transport their guns to/from HPD.  Some new arrivals have shown up to register with the guns tossed in a cart.  Officers brought them out a Hefty bag to put them in -- all good!
https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol03_Ch0121-0200D/HRS0134/HRS_0134-0023.htm
https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol03_Ch0121-0200D/HRS0134/HRS_0134-0024.htm
https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol03_Ch0121-0200D/HRS0134/HRS_0134-0025.htm

I've always interpreted this to mean a hard-sided case of any design, or a soft-sided case that is specifically manufactured as a gun case. It doesn't sound like it has ever been enough of an issue for their to be any official clarification?

Ammo has the same transport requirements; woe to the guy who has a jar of 22lr spill in their back seat.
https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol03_Ch0121-0200D/HRS0134/HRS_0134-0027.htm
Like you said, ammo is the same.  Any equivalent container is fine.  I.E. Don't walk around with a handful of loose 9mm rounds.

Federal Law: You can't have an unlocked gun within 1000' of a school. This alone means it's probably a good idea to always transport your guns in a locked case.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/922#q_2_A

2) I don't know where I picked "lockable" up from, I don't see the word in section 134 of the HRS.

3) There isn't any law, policy or precedent in Hawaii that says an unloaded gun can't be in the same storage container and compartment as ammo or loaded magazines. Nobody has ever gotten in trouble in Hawaii for this. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.)
Unloaded means just that.  You can have a 1911 and fully loaded mag in the same case during transport as long as the gun is unloaded.

4) A firearm left in a vehicle needs to be in a locked storage that is out-of-site from outside of the vehicle, and not a trunk or glovebox. Has there been any clarification on this language? Does the "safe storage depository" need to be bolted to the vehicle? Or does a locked Pelican case with a beach towel over it suffice?
https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol03_Ch0121-0200D/HRS0134/HRS_0134-0009_0003.htm
Common sense should guide you.  A high value item like a firearm should be protected from theft with extraordinary methods and care.  If you have kids in the car routinely, it's even more important to have a proper locking container even though you are in the car (can't always watch what they are doing while driving).  When i travel, I use a very heavy bike lock cable and steel shank locks to secure my pelican in the trunk to the hinges or body panel cutouts.  if it were my car, I'd permanently attach the container to the vehicle, probably with a bracket that lets me remove the container easier than crawling under the floorboard or disassembling a center console. 

AFAIK, there are 2 sets of rules: one for your CCW pistol, and one for guns you are merely transporting unloaded from point A to B.
 Best to not get confused trying to apply CCW rules to other firearms in the car.

Also common sense -- if you're away from the vehicle leaving the gun unattended, obviously you need extraordinary means to secure it.  if you are not talking about your CCW firearm, then the Places to Keep laws kick in.  You should not be leaving a non-CCW firearm in the vehicle unattended at all.  if you're at one of the approved places to keep, you are probably going to have it with you -- gunsmith, gun shop,  range, HPD, etc.  If you are not at an approved place to keep, (1) you're already in violation of the law, so the container type is irrelevant, and (2) it's best to not set yourself up for trouble, such as allowing your firearm to be stolen in under a minute while you are breaking the places to keep law. 

"Also common sense -- if you're away from the vehicle leaving the gun unattended, obviously you need extraordinary means to secure it.  if you are not talking about your CCW firearm,. "

Here's a though. Do gun free zones allow criminals an opportunity to steal a gun.  As in, the gun would have been on the person, but now they had no choice but to leave it in the car.

Firearm thefts from vehicles have risen more than 25% over the past decade

The vast majority of firearms stolen from private citizens are pistols left in cars.
Cities in Tennessee and South Carolina have experienced the highest number
of firearms reported stolen from vehicles in recent years.

Guns Stolen in Cars Fast Facts:

• 80% of firearms stolen in Nashville, TN, were stolen from vehicles (1,014) - 2023
  
• 2,441 firearms stolen from vehicles in 2022 Shelby County, TN
  
• Hamilton County, TN, has been issuing warnings for years due to the increase in
  firearms stolen from unlocked vehicles
  
• ⅓ of firearms stolen in Columbia, SC, were reportedly taken from unlocked vehicles