Hawaii taxpayers could soon be forced to pay for state-sponsored gun "buyback" efforts after the Hawaiʻi State Association of Counties included that demand in their legislative wish list for 2026.
According to Maui Now, the lobbying group representing county governments wants the state to hold two compensated confiscation events in each county every year, claiming that "existing results from Oʻahu illustrate the effectiveness of these programs and demonstrate the value of establishing a consistent, statewide approach."
In April 2025, a gun buyback event on Oʻahu collected 367 firearms and distributed $37,900 in Foodland Farms gift cards. A subsequent event in August 2025, conducted in partnership between the Honolulu Police Department and the State Department of Law Enforcement, collected 83 firearms, including five unregistered ghost guns and 11 replica firearms, with 79 gift cards distributed.
These events removed hundreds of firearms from circulation, many of which could have posed risks related to suicide, domestic violence, or accidental injury, according to HSAC. These results highlight the importance of expanding buyback programs to Maui County, Hawaiʻi County, and Kauaʻi County on a regular and predictable basis, HSAC reports.
“Gun buybacks and gun violence protective orders save lives. These proposals make sure every county has access to proven prevention tools and that families and law enforcement have the resources they need to act before tragedy strikes,” said Honolulu City Council Chair Tommy Waters.
Contrary to Waters' claims, there is no evidence whatsoever that "buybacks" reduce suicide, domestic violence, or accidental injury. Even the RAND Corporation, which is hardly a bastion of pro-2A sentiment, reports that "[s]everal reviews of the existing research find little or no evidence that gun buyback programs reduce firearm violence in the United States," and at least one study has found a small increase in gun-involved crimes with no corresponding change in non-gun crimes in the months after a "buyback" takes place.
Hawai‘i Police Chief Ben Moszkowicz stated after a 2023 "buyback" that spending money on additional events "would be a waste" and that "I don’t find gun buyback programs to be an effective policing strategy that reduces gun violence.”
HSAC claims that the guns purchased by Hawaiian law enforcement "could have" posed risks related to suicide, domestic violence, or accidental injury, but you could just as easily argue that those firearms "could have" been beneficial in self-defense or other lawful activities.
HSAC is also demanding lawmakers expand the state's "red flag" law to allow people like family members, medical professionals, educators, and even coworkers to petition the courts for an Extreme Risk Protection Order.
HSAC says that “despite its proven effectiveness nationally, the law remains significantly underutilized in Hawaiʻi.”
Since 2020, only ten GVPO petitions have been filed statewide. Notably, the Honolulu Police Department and the Kauaʻi Police Department have filed none, citing challenges such as limited training, insufficient staffing, and low public awareness of the law.
Judiciary testimony has further identified the need for additional personnel to assist petitioners, process cases, facilitate hearings, and meet reporting requirements.
HSAC reports that these gaps are “especially concerning” given that approximately 65% of gun deaths in Hawaiʻi are the result of suicide.
The best study that "red flag" fans can point to when it comes to reducing suicide claims that for every 17 ERPO's issued, one suicide is prevented; hardly evidence that the law is an effective means of suicide prevention. What about the other 16 cases? How many of those individuals took their lives by other means, or with an illicitly acquired firearms? How many people subject to an ERPO petition never posed a threat to themselves or others to begin with?
Hawaii lawmakers are already about to be slapped down by the Supreme Court for adopting the "vampire rule" barring concealed carry on all private property by default. Adopting the measures HSAC are demanding would just open the door to another lawsuit and embarrassing court loss, but that doesn't mean that the anti-gunners in the legislature will take a truly common sense approach to Second Amendment issues this session.
Editor’s Note: The radical left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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