One thing that is a problem in many of the Western States, including Hawaii, is that gun safety isn't taught by many families and definitely not in any schools.  I don't know if gun safety is taught in any schools further East where hunting and gun ownership is more prevalent, but I know it isn't taught over here.  One reason for not teaching gun safety is safety through obscurity.  The thought is by having less people with a knowledge of guns, less people will use them. Well, that is true to a point, but people who find a gun and don't know how to safely handle it may end up hurting themselves or someone else.  Here is a good article demonstrating this point.