Hawaii

Genuinely unsettled. Honolulu PD (and other county departments) issue two distinct license types under HRS §134-9: 'License to Carry Concealed Firearm' and 'License to Carry Unconcealed Firearm.' Pre-Bruen, both required showing an 'exceptional case' of urgency/need and were almost never granted (as few as 4 concealed licenses statewide 2000-2020, per Young v. Hawaii litigation). Bruen and the Ninth Circuit's remand forced Hawaii toward shall-issue for ordinary self-defense concealed permits; it's not clearly established whether the separate unconcealed/open-carry license now gets the same shall-issue treatment or still requires the old 'exceptional case' showing. A June 2026 SCOTUS decision (Wolford v. Lopez) further struck down HI's default private-property carry restriction, underscoring this area is still moving. Verify current county-level practice before relying on this.

Haw. Rev. Stat. §134-9.1(a)'s prohibited-place list omits places of worship; carry there depends on the property owner's authorization (express permission or posted signage), same private-property framework Hawaii uses generally.

HRS § 134-9.1, added by 2023 Act 52 (effective Jan. 1, 2024), expressly bans carrying "in any bar or restaurant serving alcohol or intoxicating liquor... for consumption on the premises," naming restaurants specifically alongside bars, with no size or revenue carve-out.

Hawaii's post-Bruen locational-restriction statute, HRS § 134-9.1(a)(9), bars a CCL holder from carrying a firearm (loaded or unloaded, concealed or not) on 'any beach... or adjacent parking area, including any state park... or other recreation area or facility under control, maintenance, and management of the State or a county.' Subsection (13) separately bars carry on public transportation/transit vehicles, which would cover an inter-island public ferry. So carrying is prohibited while on a beach (a common boat-launch point) or a public ferry, but nothing in the statute reaches a private vessel once underway on open state waters away from those specific locations.

HRS §134-9.1 flatly prohibits carrying or possessing a firearm 'in any building or office owned, leased, or used by the State or a county,' including adjacent grounds/parking and any portion used for court proceedings — no exception is made for license holders. This covers a DMV office and city hall exactly as much as a courthouse.

Act 52 (HB 1230, signed June 2, 2023) bars carrying firearms — concealed or open — on the campus/premises, including parking, of any public or private community college, college, or university.

Reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Wolford v. Lopez, decided 6/25/2026 (6-3, opinion by Justice Alito). Hawaii's 2023 law (the 'vampire rule,' HRS § 134-9.5) had presumptively banned carry on private property open to the public absent the owner's express written/verbal/signed consent; SCOTUS held that this default violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendments because the historical common-law rule allows entry onto public-facing private property unless expressly prohibited. Property owners in Hawaii retain full authority to exclude carriers by posted sign or verbal notice — they just can no longer rely on a default ban.

Verified directly from the official Hawaii Revised Statutes: HRS 134-9.5(a) makes it a misdemeanor for a permit holder to 'enter or remain on private property of another person while carrying' a firearm 'unless the person has been given express authorization ... by the owner, lessee, operator, or manager.' Subsection (c) expressly defines 'private property of another person' to include 'residential ... or undeveloped property' — i.e., this covers property NOT open to the public, not just businesses. The U.S. Supreme Court's Wolford v. Lopez (decided June 25, 2026) struck down Hawaii's analogous default rule only as applied to private property OPEN TO THE PUBLIC (stores, restaurants); secondary reporting (FindLaw) confirms the ruling does not reach residences/private land, so HRS 134-9.5's application to non-public private property remains in force.

I made a genuine effort to find Hawaii's post-Bruen sensitive-places statute (HRS § 134-9.5, enacted by Act 52 of 2023) but every source I tried (Hawaii's own capitol.hawaii.gov code site, Findlaw, Justia, the Honolulu Police Dept.) was unreachable (403/404) in this session, and the one secondary summary I could load had an empty prohibited-places section. Hawaii's post-Bruen carry law is known to be one of the most restrictive and NY/CA-style sensitive-places lists in that mold commonly include transit hubs, so I would not guess 'yes' here; this genuinely needs a direct read of HRS § 134-9.5 that I could not obtain.

Hawaii is no longer the near-impossible 'may issue' state it used to be: after Bruen, the state AG acknowledged on July 7, 2022 that the old 'exceptional case' standard couldn't be enforced, and Act 52 (2023) codified shall-issue-style licensing (HRS §§134-2(g)(4), 134-9). A license IS still required, though — carrying a loaded firearm, concealed or not, including in a vehicle, without a valid license is a Class B felony under HRS Chapter 134. So: legal with a valid HI-recognized license; a felony without one.

Haw. Rev. Stat. §134-9.1(a) (2023 post-Bruen reform) bars carrying at 'any public or private hospital, mental health facility, nursing home, clinic, medical office, urgent care facility, or other place at which medical or health services are customarily provided,' including adjacent parking — explicitly covers hospitals AND doctor's offices alike, with no public/private distinction.

Hawaii's 2023 Act 52 created a new, extensive sensitive-places regime for its now shall-issue carry licenses, but that law has been under continuous federal litigation (Wolford v. Lopez, 9th Cir.) with parts enjoined and reinstated at different times. I could not locate the specific current list of prohibited locations through Hawaii's official statute site to confirm whether a highway rest area/wayside is or isn't swept into a 'park' or 'beach' category, and the underlying law's enforceability has been in flux. Genuinely unclear without confirming current status with Hawaii County/State police.

HRS § 134-9.2(b) (added by SB 1230, 2023): a person carrying a firearm who is stopped by, or is a driver/passenger in a vehicle stopped by, a law enforcement officer "shall immediately disclose to the law enforcement officer that the person is carrying a firearm," and upon request identify its location and present license/credentials. Proactive duty triggered by the stop itself.

Hawaii Revised Statutes §134-9(a)(5) lists being "a resident of the State" as a mandatory criterion for a concealed carry license, with no non-resident exception in the statute.

Haw. Rev. Stat. §134-A(a)(8) is unusually explicit: 'a person with a concealed carry license may not intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carry or possess a loaded or unloaded firearm' on school grounds (public, charter, private, preschool, or child care). No licensee exception exists.

Hawaii's Act 52 (2023, codified in HRS Ch. 134) made private property open to the public a default no-carry location unless the owner/operator gives express authorization — which, per the Ninth Circuit's Wolford v. Lopez decision (which specifically reviewed Hawaii's law alongside California's), can be given orally, in writing, OR by signage (a broader consent mechanism than California's signage-only rule, which the same panel viewed less favorably). This means a posted 'no firearms' sign reinforces an already-default-prohibited status, and violating it is a criminal offense — but I could not confirm the exact penalty grade or the final/current post-Wolford litigation posture (e.g., whether further appeal has altered enforcement) as of September 2026, so treat the criminal-liability fact as likely but not fully verified this session.

No comprehensive statewide preemption statute (comparable to the mainland NRA-model laws) was found. Instead, HRS Ch. 134 is administered independently by each of the 4 counties' police chiefs, who issue carry licenses, and a license has historically been valid only "within the county where the license is granted" — meaning practical, county-by-county variation exists even without a formal local 'ordinance.' Post-Bruen litigation over county practices is ongoing.

Haw. Rev. Stat. § 134-9.1(a)(11) (part of Hawaii's 2023 post-Bruen 'sensitive places' law, Act 52) lists 'any voter service center...or other polling place, including adjacent parking areas' as a prohibited location, with no exception found for licensed carriers.

10-round limit, but applies ONLY to detachable magazines designed for or capable of use with a pistol (HRS § 134-8(c)) — rifle/long-gun magazines are not restricted by this section.

Gun Violence Protective Order, Haw. Rev. Stat. § 134-61 et seq. (2019/2020). Broad petitioner list: law enforcement, family/household members, medical professionals, educators, and coworkers.

Hawaii bans these categories outright at the state level, independent of federal registration. HRS § 134-8 prohibits manufacture, possession, sale, or acquisition of automatic firearms (machine guns), rifles with barrels under 16 inches and shotguns with barrels under 18 inches (SBR/SBS), and mufflers/silencers/devices for deadening or muffling sound (suppressors). Violation is a class C felony (up to 5 years) — a standalone state prohibition unaffected by federal registration. Hawaii is consistently cited as one of a small handful of states (with D.C.) that flatly prohibit civilian suppressor possession, and it bans SBR/machine guns the same way.

Castle Doctrine state: Haw. Rev. Stat. § 703-304(5) — deadly force not justifiable if the actor knows he can avoid the necessity with complete safety by retreating, except no duty to retreat from the actor's dwelling. No duty at home; duty applies elsewhere (including workplace/vehicle) in public if safe.

Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 134-2, 134-13 require a police-issued permit to acquire before any firearm transfer, purchased or otherwise, making Hawaii's regime effectively universal (arguably the most comprehensive of any state, since it also applies to gifts).