skidmark:
I completely disagree. HI clearly seems more "gun-less" and in more ways than the obvious. And I wouldn't be comparing Liberal Democrat HI with other Liberal Democrat states anyway (which would clearly impact the "poll numbers" of the nation as a whole re: how many people have guns at home or don't) but was thinking more of (contrasting) HI vs. states like TX, AZ and such, or AT LEAST states that give their citizens ONE way to carry (CC or OC). HI gives neither so it's almost in a class of its own: Few states give their citizens (residents) NO way to carry. But again, I won't debate the point.
As for lawsuits, maybe the one you reference was the LAST one (not too long ago) that was attempted? If so, it got dismissed, IIRC, for some technicality...and afterwards, I never heard anymore about it so I thought they dropped it. But if you link to a NEW (and hopefully "corrected") lawsuit then I'll check it out forthwith.
MAC702:
I have been unable to find ANYthing "conservative" about HI, let alone a newspaper. I believe even the Monk seals and honu are Democrats. I'm not sure about the humuhumunukunukuapua'a however, so I'd have to check with one on that. My guess is it's also a Democrat. ;-)
They USED to have 2 newspapers -- the Honolulu Advertiser and the Star Bulletin -- but economic realities changed that, so about a year ago they "merged" and only have one now: The Star Advertiser. Sorry, I don't know if one was less liberal than the other. HI seems to have been Liberal since statehood. Even the recent Republican Governor (Lingle) didn't do anything (TMK) really "conservative" while in office and in her recent bid for Senate, she was landslided (!) by the Democrat candidate. I don't know how a Republican could get elected for Chief Dog Catcher there so I don't know how she made Governor in the first place. I don't know if Republicans EVER were a majority in HI since statehood (1959), but I doubt it. Sad.
As for the Honolulu Star Advertiser readership, I see plenty of posts from people upset HI doesn't do more about crime & criminals (and what SHOULD happen to criminals) which would suggest there are a lot of "conservatives" out there, but except for me "ranting" in the forums there, I don't see that, nor ANYTHING by other posters AT LEAST demanding that HI become a shall-issue state, nor even any (except me) call for HPD Police Chief Louis "no-issue" Kealoha to do his job and ISSUE CC permits).
So as I've said before, it seems HI will need to be FORCED to go shall-issue...hence the interest in lawsuits since THAT seems to be the only way.
Still, if the people don't support it in general, I don't know how that would go, even though it SHOULD be a separate issue -- a point of Constitutional Law (namely, demanding HI allow FULL exercise of the 2nd Amendment where there is no such thing now) -- and not something like how the people in general "feel" about it. Meaning, if HI is unconstitutional, then THAT needs to be corrected as it's a point of law, whether the people want CC (or OC) is irrelevant...which MIGHT be a good thing in that I wonder how many signatures one could get on a petition demanding HI go shall-issue. Maybe not enough, but who knows...worth a try anyway.
[EDIT (added): Naturally, no one would be FORCED to apply for a permit to carry so those anti-gun people still NOT wanting to carry DON'T HAVE TO (so nothing changes for them), but for others who DO want to carry -- if the state went to shall-issue -- they would then be able to get a permit. People could still CHOOSE -- to carry or not -- but presently they have no such choice. IMO, EVERY state MUST give its residents at least ONE way to carry, as that recognizes/affirms the 2nd Amendment's "to bear" part, so if a state allows neither CC or OC, then it's clearly unconstitutional, period. Half a right is NO right.]
While they DO have some pro-gun organizations there, and the shooting ranges often are filled to capacity (and more), you don't hear much about the pro-gun groups. But you DO read about -- almost daily, and sometimes multiple incidents each day (sometimes done to tourists, sometimes to other locals) -- of beatings, knifings and shootings...but citizens have no legal way to defend themselves. Also sad.
P.S. I just checked the Star Advertiser website "Guns at Home" poll again and the results show even more people with "no guns at home" but the ratio is pretty much identical at 2:1. Interestingly, the "plan to have one soon" percentage remains identical to the earlier one.
See image below...