Hawaii
Permanent URL for this collectionhttps://dspace.firearmsresearchcenter.org/id/frc0001/3638
Hawaii
This jurisdictional hub aggregates FRC holdings related to Hawaii. It supports research on the state’s firearms history, technology, law, policy, and culture from the Kingdom and Territorial periods through statehood to the present.
- Legal sources: statutes and session laws, administrative rules, attorney general opinions, appellate decisions, and select county ordinances.
- Historical materials: newspapers, photographs, maps, catalogs, plantation, maritime, and military records, and oral histories tied to Hawaii people and places.
- Research outputs: technical reports, academic studies, training manuals, and curated datasets relevant to the state.
Cite the Firearms Research Center and the item’s handle/DOI when using materials. Rights and licensing vary by item.
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Item type:Item, 1903 Haw. Terr. Sess. Laws 55(1903)Ch. 8, § 25: Granted the Board of Supervisors of each county the jurisdiction and power to adopt rules and regulations for the keeping and storing of powder, Hercules powder, giant powder, kerosene, coal oil, benzoin, naptha, or other explosive or combustible materials.Item type:Item, Laws of His Majesty Kamehameha V. King of the Hawaiian Islands 26 (1870)(1870)An Act to License the Carrying of Fowling Pieces and Other Fire-arms, chap. 20, §§ 1 to 3: Required a license from the Minister of the Interior to use or carry for sporting purposes any gun, carbine, rifle, pistol, or other fire-arms. Licenses were priced at five dollars. Violators fined fifty dollars for every offense. Failure to pay the fine led to imprisonment at hard labour.Item type:Item, Compiled Laws of the Hawaiian Kingdom 86-87 (1884)(1884)Of the Safekeeping of Gunpowder § 354: Granted the Minister of the Interior the authority to make regulations on the storing, keeping, and transportation of gunpowder in the Kingdom. Prohibited the violation of these regulations.Item type:Item, Compiled Laws of the Hawaiian Kingdom 539 (1884)(1870)An Act to License the Carrying of Fowling Pieces and Other Fire Arms: The general and indiscriminate use of fire-arms, which are frequently used for the destruction of useful, imported and migratory insectivorous birds and their progeny, is an injury to the agricultural and pastoral interests of this Kingdom, therefore, Be it Enacted by the King and Legislative Assembly of the Hawaiian Islands in the Legislature of the Kingdom assembled: § 1. That the Minister of the Interior may at any time license for a term of one year, any applicant for such license, to use and carry fire-arms for sporting purposes, in the District of Kona, Island of Oahu, on receiving for such license the sum of five dollars. § 2. Any person in said district who shall use or carry for sporting purposes, any gun, carbine, rifle, pistol, or other fire-arms, without having at first obtained a license as hereinbefore provided, shall, upon conviction therefor, before any police or district justice, be fined in a sum not to exceed fifty dollars for every such offense, and in default of payment of such sum, shall be imprisoned at hard labor, until such fine and costs are paid, according to law.Item type:Item, The Penal Laws of the Hawaiian Islands 251 (1897)(1896)Ch. 54: Prohibited the carry of any Bowie-knife, sword-cane, pistol, air-gun, slung-shot, or other deadly weapon if not authorized by law. Violators fined no less than ten but no more than thirty dollars and imprisonment in hard labor camps no less than fifteen days but not exceeding two months. Note: Hawaii did not become US territory until 1898.Item type:Item, 1933 Haw. Terr. Sess. Laws 35-40 (Spec. Sess.)(1933)The 1934 Hawaii Firearms Act comprehensively regulated firearms and ammunition by requiring registration of most firearms and non-shotgun ammunition, permits to acquire firearms or ammunition, and registration of newly acquired weapons. It generally limited firearm possession to a person's home, business, or place of sojourn, with exceptions for lawful hunting and transportation. The Act prohibited possession of pistols and revolvers by persons convicted of violent crimes and banned machine guns, automatic rifles, bombs, silencers, and similar weapons. Concealed carry licenses were available only in exceptional cases upon a showing of good cause and suitability. The law criminalized altering firearm identification marks, created evidentiary presumptions in certain criminal prosecutions, exempted specified law enforcement and military personnel, authorized forfeiture of unlawfully possessed firearms, permitted revocation of permits and licenses, and imposed fines and imprisonment for violations.Item type:Item, 1927 Haw. Terr. Sess. Laws 236(1927)An Act . . . Relating to the Discharge of Firearms and other Weapons upon Public Highways, § 1: Prohibited the discharge on the public highways with a firearm or other weapon capable of causing death or inflicting serious personal injury, including air-guns and sling-shots. Violators guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by fine of not less than ten nor more than two hundred and fifty dollars, or imprisonment not more than one year, or both fine and imprisonment.Item type:Item, The Revised Laws of Hawaii 790-94 (1925)(1925)Chapter 128 imposed a comprehensive firearm and ammunition registration and permitting system in the Territory of Hawaii. Residents, businesses, and other possessors were required to report firearms and ammunition to the county sheriff, including the type, manufacturer, and factory number when available. Sheriffs maintained records and periodically forwarded copies to the governor. Firearms and ammunition dealers faced additional reporting requirements concerning their inventory, imports, and every sale or transfer. Retail purchasers generally had to obtain a written permit from the sheriff before acquiring a firearm or pistol/revolver ammunition. Dealers had to record the transaction, obtain the purchaser’s signature, report it to the sheriff, and could not deliver the item on the same day as the transaction. Violations were misdemeanors punishable by fines up to $500, imprisonment up to one year, or both; informants could receive half of an imposed fine. Aliens faced additional restrictions: obtaining a permit required written recommendations from two responsible citizens, and generally required an annual $5 license, although business-related firearm use could qualify for a fee exemption. Aliens possessing firearms or ammunition without complying with these requirements faced misdemeanor penalties. Registration records were generally confidential, accessible only at the governor’s request or by court order. Violations of the chapter could result in fines up to $500, while sheriffs improperly disclosing records faced fines up to $25. Federal, territorial, militia, county, and municipal authorities carrying arms in their official capacities were exempt from the reporting requirements.Item type:Item, 1925 Haw. Terr. Sess. Laws 94(1925)An Act to Prohibit the Use of Guns in the Taking or Killing of Fish and Providing Penalties For The Violation Of The Provisions Of This Act, Act 76, § 1: Prohibited to fish by means of any firearms.Item type:Item, 1927 Haw. Terr. Sess. Laws 209-17(1927)AN ACT Regulating the Sale, Transfer and Possession of Certain Firearms and Ammunitions, and Amending Sections 2136, 2137, 2138, 2139, 2140, 2141, 2142, 2143, 2146 and 2147 of the Revised Laws of Hawaii 1925 (the "Small Arms Act"), § 20: Required the sheriff to keep books containing all information furnished to him relative to ownership, acquisition, importation, delivery, and possession of firearms and ammunition. Copies of the book will be made for the Governor twice per year.Item type:Item, 1913 Haw. Terr. Sess. Laws 25(1913)Act 22: Prohibited the carrying a Bowie knife, sword cane, pistol, air-gun, slungshot, or other deadly weapon. Punishable by fine of $10-250 or imprisonment for 3-12 months, unless good cause can be shown for carrying the weapon.