Effort Underway to Halt Hawaii's Restrictive Firearm Permitting Requirements

FAIRFAX, Va.– The Hawaii Rifle Association, with the support of the National Rifle Association, filed a motion today seeking an immediate injunction against the unlawful and unconstitutional requirements Hawaii imposes on residents who wish to carry a firearm for self-defense. 

The injunction was filed as part of an ongoing lawsuit, Livingston v. Ballard, challenging Hawaii’s extreme requirement that a carry license can only be issued in “urgent” or “exceptional” instances. 

 “The law in Hawaii is so restrictive that not a single person has been issued a permit since 2013. It amounts to a prohibition on carrying a firearm, and that’s unconstitutional,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director, National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA.) 

 The injunction asks the court to lift the extreme standard while the case is being litigated. 

 “Americans have a fundamental constitutional right to keep and bear arms for self-defense.  Under the current system, Hawaii is denying its citizens their ability to exercise that right. This must change,” Cox concluded. 

Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America's oldest civil rights and sportsmen's group. More than five million members strong, NRA continues to uphold the Second Amendment and advocates enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation's leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the armed services. Be sure to follow the NRA on Facebook at NRA on Facebook and Twitter @NRA.