Who’s packing concealed handguns? Not many in Maui County, AG report says

Maui County residents made up a relatively small percentage of the state’s concealed handgun permit holders in 2024, according to a new report released by the Hawaiʻi Department of the Attorney General.

All four county police departments submitted data compiles for the inaugural “Licenses to Carry Handguns in Hawaiʻi, 2024” report. Required by state law, the annual report offers the first comprehensive look at how permits to carry a concealed handgun are being issued — and in some cases, denied or revoked — across the state in the calendar year.

As of Dec. 31, 2024, 2,207 private individuals statewide held licenses to carry a concealed firearm in public. That total represents 0.2% of the state’s adult population aged 20 and older. Of those licensees, Maui County and the City and County of Honolulu were underrepresented in comparison with the proportionate size of their resident populations. Kauaʻi and Hawaiʻi counties had more registered concealed firearms than the proportion of their populations.

For example, Kauaʻi County makes up 5.1% of the state’s population, but its residents held 11% of concealed carry licenses. Likewise, Hawaiʻi County showed higher representation (19.3% of licenses with 14.5% of the population).

The report also shows that six licenses were revoked statewide: four on Oʻahu, one on the Big Island, and the one in Maui County. The majority of those revocations were due to criminal prosecutions or convictions.

In the Maui County license revocation, the report revealed, broadly, that it followed a public incident in which a licensee was observed mishandling a firearm and later failed to inform responding officers of the weapon and license-to-carry permit.

Statewide, county departments received 2,697 license-to-carry applications in 2024. A total of 2,456 licenses were issued, while 119 applications were denied. Denials were mostly procedural, involving incomplete paperwork, missed deadlines, or failure to complete certified firearms training. Only 16 denials (5.8%) were due to legal disqualifications, such as felony convictions or restraining orders.

Maui County also saw some participation in the appeals process. Across the state, 10 administrative appeals were filed in 2024. Three were granted, three were denied, and four remained unresolved by year’s end. No judicial appeals were filed statewide.

Statistically, a typical license holder in Hawaiʻi is male, 30 to 50 years old, and of Caucasian, Filipino, Hawaiian or Japanese descent. There are no meaningful distinctions in application submissions versus outcomes relative to age, sex or ethnicity.

The Attorney General’s Office plans to issue updated reports annually, with future editions expected to offer more clarity on trends across counties — including Maui County — as more multi-year data becomes available.

To view the full Licenses to Carry Handguns in Hawaiʻi, 2024, report, visit the Department of the Attorney General’s website or click here.