Amid mounting legal challenges, Hawaii allows open carry of formerly banned blades

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – As of Monday, it is no longer illegal in Hawaii to carry a dangerous weapon in public — and switchblade and butterfly knives are no longer banned.

That change led to an alarming sight in Waikiki at sunset Tuesday.

The governor signed HB 2342 into law Monday without fanfare, making it immediately legal to openly carry weapons that were banned in public until now.

Gun rights activist Andrew Namiki Roberts, leader of the Hawaii Firearms Coalition, decided to celebrate in a very visual way, brandishing medieval bladed weapons in a public park.

Video of the display was posted on the Coalition’s Facebook page.

“I can be down here with my halberd, walk around with it, and not break the law,” Roberts said, in the video. “I also have an 18-inch Viking axe, perfectly legal.

“The other thing that’s now legal was switch blades and butterfly knives you can own possess and carry them as long as it’s done openly.”

Attorney Alan Beck, who has represented Hawaii gun owners in lawsuits against the state and county’s gun control laws, is in the process of challenging the state’s ban on switchblade and butterfly knives. He said the new law was designed to blunt that lawsuit, by partially loosening the restrictions.

“You can now open carry any dangerous and deadly weapon. And the law now only prohibits the concealed carry of those weapons,” Beck said.

State Solicitor General Kaliko’onālani Fernandes, who represents the Attorney General in appeals courts, said despite the loosening of some restrictions, existing laws can protect the public.

“It’s a serious crime, both before and after this bill, to carry a weapon in a manner that threatens or terrorizes others,” she said.

Roberts emphasized in his video that he had no intention of using the weapons to scare anyone, even though he admitted they were frightening.

“It’s 6 foot tall. It’s basically a spear, axe, hook all at once. It scares the bejesus out of me. It really, really, really does. But it’s perfectly legal for me to carry as long as I do so safely,” he said, in the video.

In hearings on the bill, the attorney general said the change was to modernize and align Hawaii’s concealed weapons laws with other places and court rulings.

But some testifiers said it didn’t make any sense to legalize knives only to carry them in public.

Michael Rice, who appeared via Zoom from his home, used a small knife on a clip inside his shirt to explain.

“This is concealed — so, that’s a felony. Now this isn’t concealed. You know, if I’m running down the street with a butterfly knife in my hands, does that make it any better than if I just got it slipped in my pocket?” Rice said.

The new law also says people who legally carry concealed firearms will face felony charges if they commit even a minor crime, like driving without a license.

The state Public Defender’s office, represented by Jerry Villanueva, found itself allied with gun owners in questioning the language of the proposal, which didn’t seem to provide exemptions for crimes not related to the firearm.

“But if they are validly in possession of a firearm, but they’re driving without a valid driver’s license as a misdemeanor, then they also could face a Class C felony,” Villanueva said.

But prosecutors and the state Attorney General’s Office said there would have to be some relationship between the firearm and the crime to trigger the higher charge.

“For decades, it’s been a felony under state law, to possess a firearm while committing a crime,” Fernandes said. “So this bill does not meaningfully change the scope of that existing prohibition.”

Beck called on the attorney general to publicly clarify how the new law will be enforced, but Fernandes said could not comment on specific hypotheticals.

Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.