Art of Discouragement

Hawaii isn’t the only state where laws have been written and enforced in a way that seems designed to discourage people from exercising their Second Amendment rights.

New York, New Jersey and Maryland are three other prime examples, which explains why the Empire State’s law regarding gun permits is being challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court.

In New Jersey and Maryland, as well as New York, getting a permit to carry is nearly impossible. The Hawaii approach has been to make just getting a handgun a daunting task. According to Todd Yukutake’s attorney, Alan Alexander Beck of San Diego, the process begins with going to the police department to apply for a permit. Next comes waiting for 14 days, going back to the police department to pick up the permit, and bringing the handgun back for inspection and registration. As Beck explained, this system requires average working people to take three days off work just to crawl through the process.

Beck worked with Mississippi attorney Stephen D. Stamboulieh to successfully challenge those requirements.