Firearm Permit Registration Soars in Maui County

By Wendy Osher

The state recorded a record high for personal firearm permit applications processed in 2012.  The findings were detailed in the annual Firearm Registrations report released by the Department of the Attorney General this week.

According to the report, there were a total of 21,864 applications processed for private firearms last year–a 70.3% increase from the previous record high the year before. The actual number of permits issued statewide in 2012 was 20,572 for a record high total of 50,394 firearms registered.

In Maui County, the report notes that a total of 2,777 firearms applications were processed in 2011–that’s more than three times the 870 applications processed a decade earlier. Of that number, 2,640 were approved, 91 were voided, and 46 were denied last year.

The report also notes that between 2000 and 2012, the number of permits processed annually in Maui County increased 349.3%, the number of firearms registered surged 457%, and the tally of firearms imported soared 487.4%.

Based on its population size, the study finds that Maui County processed 18% more firearms applications than expected in 2012, and denied 182% more applications than expected.

While there has been a tremendous increase in firearm registration activity in Hawaii since 2000, the study finds that annual trends for both the number of firearm-related violent crimes and the proportion of violent crimes involving firearms relative to other weapon types remained stable within a low and narrow range through 2000.  There was also a noted decrease from 2008 through 2012, during which time registration activity increased the most sharply, the report states.