Yet Hawaii is a state with a lot going for it. Daytime temperatures run from an average of 78 in the winter to 85 in the summer, for example, meaning that it’s never all that hot–heat has been linked to violent crime, after all.

But no state is perfect, even if the weather is. Things can always be better.

One official thinks what the state needs, though, is more armed citizens.

As constituents filed into a public safety town hall at Honouliuli Middle School last week, they were handed printed copies of applications to carry concealed firearms downloaded from the Honolulu Police Department’s website.

The town hall on Wednesday, organized by state Rep. Diamond Garcia, who represents parts of Varona Village, Ewa and Kapolei, was intended to discuss rising crime rates on West Oahu, as well as address questions from residents curious about how to obtain licenses to carry.

“I think the state would be safer in fact if we had responsible gun owners who knew how to handle their weapon and understood the responsibility that comes with gun ownership,” Garcia said. “What we should do is not pass more laws restricting gun rights but pass more laws making those penalties tougher for those who are using firearms illegally.”

Obviously, I agree with Garcia.

Despite all the advantages Hawaii has in keeping out illegal guns–I mean, it’s an island. You don’t really have people driving across state lines with a trunk-load of illegally-obtained firearms, do you?–bad guys still get guns.

That means ordinary people in Hawaii should consider arming themselves.

However, not everyone agrees with this.

But Honolulu Police Cpl. Roland Pagan cautioned those in the audience that carrying a firearm wouldn’t automatically make them safer. Unless you know how to defend yourself properly, there’s always a chance someone could overpower you and use your own weapon on you, he said.

“Although carrying a gun is your right, it’s not always the answer,” he said.

I’m really sick of this scare tactic. I’ve heard it before, and it’s uttered with one specific purpose in mind. It’s meant to scare people into not taking advantage of your Second Amendment right.

Yet my question is just how often does this actually happen? I mean, I’m sure it does from time to time, but is it all that common?

Or is it far more likely that a bad guy would decide not to tempt fate and take off when the individual he’s threatening pulls a firearm?

I looked and I found two stories this year where this may have happened, and one of those was struggling with the police when he was shot by his own weapon. The other is an update on a case from 2021.

Now, there may well be more and I just didn’t find them. I’m willing to accept that.

What I’m not accepting, though, is that this is enough of a problem that people in Hawaii shouldn’t consider a firearm to protect themselves from hostile actions.

After all, if someone is dangerous enough to attack an armed individual, how in the hell does being unarmed benefit you? If someone’s going to attack someone with a gun, I’m going to guess they’re violent enough to attack you without it.

If that’s what you’re dealing with, then what you need isn’t to be disarmed, it’s to have the will to pull the trigger.

Yes, shooting someone isn’t an action to be taken lightly. I never should be. The thing that we have to remember, though, is that someone that violent isn’t likely to respond to “pretty please” and pulling that trigger may be the only thing that helps you survive. If you’re not willing to pull that trigger, don’t pull the gun.

But this idea that being armed somehow makes you less safe is something a lot of people push because they want people to be afraid. They want you scared so you’ll be unarmed.

Don’t fall for it.

Hawaii can be an even safer state, but not without private citizens taking their own safety seriously. That means arming themselves.