Is U.S. citizenship really required to own a firearm in Hawaii? I am not a U.S. citizen but I am a permanent resident alien (which means I have a green card). I am considering relocating to Hawaii for family reasons. I currently own many firearms legally, I have a concealed carry permit in my state and I even am a federal firearms licensee. I know Hawaii's gun laws are super strict and concealed carry is basically non-existent. From what I have read though it also sounds like only U.S. citizens are allowed to posses and register firearms in Hawaii. This actually surprised me due to Hawaii's high immigrant population and Permanent Resident Aliens are allowed to own firearms and treated pretty well the same as U.S. citizens when it comes to firearm laws in pretty well every other state. I do not know of any other state where this right is denied to Permanent Resident Aliens.

I am wondering if someone can give me some insight into the current situation on this in Hawaii? There does not seem to be a lot of info on this subject.

There was recently a federal court case "Fletcher v. Haas" in Massachusetts which gave resident aliens the same rights as citizens when it came to applying for firearms licenses and their constitutional rights. The Federal District Court for Massachusetts ruled that it is unconstitutional to restrict resident aliens fundamental individual right to keep and bear arms. Would this federal case have any bearing on the situation in Hawaii?

Mahalo.

Welcome to the site 

Here is the gun laws on the Honolulu Police Departments website

http://www.honolulupd.org/information/index.php?page=gunmain

I'm sure others here could help you as well! 

From the link posted earlier:

If you were born outside the United States, bring proof of citizenship such as an Original US Passport, Original Naturalization Certificate, Original Born Abroad Certificate, or if you are in the military your Enlisted (ERB) or Officer (ORB) Record Brief will suffice only if the document states you are a United States Citizen.

Aloha, Puma.

You may want to contact the firearms registration section of the police department on the island you are considering moving to.

The laws here are odd and even the best among us disagree over what some of the finer points actually mean. What matters is what the person at the registration counter says and thinks when you walk in to register your collection. I would be surprised if Hawaii actually requires citizenship. Extremely surprised. What matters, though, is that whoever is at the registration counter knows that and how to deal with the identification documents that you have.

You cannot own a gun.  You should contact me directly at Chris@TheHDF.org so we can discuss how you may be able to help fix this problem .


Chris

You cannot own a gun.  You should contact me directly at Chris@TheHDF.org so we can discuss how you may be able to help fix this problem .


Chris

Looks like you've found your huckleberry. 

Yikes. Chris would know - being among the most knowledgeable here on Hawaii gun law and case history.

.

@Oldfaithful

Thank you for the warm welcome

@clshade

I find it surprising too. But from what the laws say it seems Hawaii does require citizenship. I don't want to take a chance of bringing my guns to Hawaii, trying to register them and then finding out the hard way I did something wrong. I want to make sure that I am in compliance with all the laws first.

@Chris

Thank you for your response. I just sent you an e-mail. I think it is important that we who value the rights the second ammendment gives us stick together.

@new guy

I do find that odd given that Hawai'i law clearly states that citizenship is a requirement. It also says this on each counties police departments websites. Here is a quote from the Big Island's police departments website http://www.hawaiipolice.com/services/firearm-registration:

"If you wish to acquire a handgun or wish to acquire a shotgun or rifle for the first time, you must be at least 21 years old and a United States citizen. You must apply for a permit to acquire a firearm. If you were not born in the United States, you will need to provide proof of U.S. citizenship."

-

I am really hoping there is a way to work around this, hence my inquiry here. If not, I would like to look at ways to challenge this as this is a clear violation of the constitutional rights of all immigrants lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence. My opinion is supported by the federal courts in Massachusetts, which overturned similar laws there and the fact that it is legal for permanent resident aliens to possess and acquire firearms in pretty well all other states.

~Mahalo

You cannot own a gun.  You should contact me directly at Chris@TheHDF.org so we can discuss how you may be able to help fix this problem .


Chris

I hope this works out. after we fixed WA and MA (with SAF's help), I researched all the states and territories with U.S. Citizen rules and forwarded that to Gottlieb since I excel in alienage issues.   Alan Gottlieb got to work in NM, NE and MO. I thought for sure he would have already found someone for HI, but I guess not.

I hope this works out.

@Oldfaithful

Thank you for the warm welcome

@clshade

I find it surprising too. But from what the laws say it seems Hawaii does require citizenship. I don't want to take a chance of bringing my guns to Hawaii, trying to register them and then finding out the hard way I did something wrong. I want to make sure that I am in compliance with all the laws first.

@Chris

Thank you for your response. I just sent you an e-mail. I think it is important that we who value the rights the second ammendment gives us stick together.

@new guy

I do find that odd given that Hawai'i law clearly states that citizenship is a requirement. It also says this on each counties police departments websites. Here is a quote from the Big Island's police departments website http://www.hawaiipolice.com/services/firearm-registration:

"If you wish to acquire a handgun or wish to acquire a shotgun or rifle for the first time, you must be at least 21 years old and a United States citizen. You must apply for a permit to acquire a firearm. If you were not born in the United States, you will need to provide proof of U.S. citizenship."

-

I am really hoping there is a way to work around this, hence my inquiry here. If not, I would like to look at ways to challenge this as this is a clear violation of the constitutional rights of all immigrants lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence. My opinion is supported by the federal courts in Massachusetts, which overturned similar laws there and the fact that it is legal for permanent resident aliens to possess and acquire firearms in pretty well all other states.

~Mahalo

Puma, your case will be a slam dunk. Fletcher v Haas was in the making for 2 years before it  was filed. I did the early research  explaining immigration law and different classes of aliens on the Mass case. We almost had a non-immigrant alien in the mix, but he wimped out.

I'm assuming you are a resident alien (I-551 holder) holding a card that states Lawfully Admitted for Permanent Residence? If you are this will be a slam dunk.

Chris, if this guy works with you and if you have any questions please call Gray Peterson or myself. We've worked on this issue twice now and we've been hoping to fix Hawaii on this issue.

Haw. Rev. Stat. 134-2 (b) reads:

"The permit application form shall include the applicant's name, address, sex, height, weight, date of birth, place of birth, country of citizenship, social security number, alien or admission number, and information regarding the applicant's mental health history and shall require the fingerprinting and photographing of the applicant by the police department of the county of registration; provided that where fingerprints and photograph are already on file with the department, these may be waived. (emphasis added)"

I registered a firearm last, last week.

In line, behind me, was a woman who just picked up her Hawaii Permit to Acquire a Long Gun, and was going to register a firearm she inherited from a deceased relative.

She was a Canadian citizen.

Once she got to the window, she provided her Permit, and the firearm for inspection.

HPD Firearm Registration asked to produce her Canadian passport, a copy of the will, and a copy of the Death Certificate.

Before I left, I overheard that she had all the paperwork, but not with her when she was there at the HPD Firearm Registration office.

TLDR; her Canadian citizenship did not appear to hamper her ability to obtain a Permit to Acquire, and but for the fact that she did not have a copy of the will and Death Certificate, it looked like she would have been able to register the firearm.

BUT, I'd definitely check with Chris and HDF. 

The relevant section of the statue would be this (relevant areas kind of highlighted):

"The chief of police of the respective counties may issue permits to acquire firearms to citizens of the United States of the age of twenty-one years or more, or duly accredited official representatives of foreign nations, or duly commissioned law enforcement officers of the State who are aliens; provided that any law enforcement officer who is the owner of a firearm and who is an alien shall transfer ownership of the firearm within forty-eight hours after termination of employment from a law enforcement agency.  The chief of police of each county may issue permits to aliens of the age of eighteen years or more for use of rifles and shotguns for a period not exceeding sixty days, upon a showing that the alien has first procured a hunting license under chapter 183D, part II.  The chief of police of each county may issue permits to aliens of the age of twenty-one years or more for use of firearms for a period not exceeding six months, upon a showing that the alien is in training for a specific organized sport-shooting contest to be held within the permit period.  The attorney general shall adopt rules, pursuant to chapter 91, as to what constitutes sufficient evidence that an alien is in training for a sport-shooting contest.  Notwithstanding any provision of the law to the contrary and upon joint application, the chief of police may issue permits to acquire firearms jointly to spouses who otherwise qualify to obtain permits under this section."

Puma, your case will be a slam dunk. Fletcher v Haas was in the making for 2 years before it  was filed. I did the early research  explaining immigration law and different classes of aliens on the Mass case. We almost had a non-immigrant alien in the mix, but he wimped out.

I'm assuming you are a resident alien (I-551 holder) holding a card that states Lawfully Admitted for Permanent Residence? If you are this will be a slam dunk.

Chris, if this guy works with you and if you have any questions please call Gray Peterson or myself. We've worked on this issue twice now and we've been hoping to fix Hawaii on this issue.

Thanks Jared! We are just here to do the constitutions work 8-).