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![handle is hein.sag/saghi0092 and id is 1 raw text is:
DAVID Y. IGE RUSSELL A. SUZUKI
GOVERNOR ATTORNEY GENERAL
DANA O. VIOLA
DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL
STATE OF HAWAI'I
DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
425 QUEEN STREET
HONOLULU, HAWAI'1 96813
(808) 586-1500
September 11, 2018
The Honorable Douglas S. Chin
Lieutenant Governor
State of Hawai'i
State Capitol, Executive Chambers
415 South Beretania Street
Honolulu, Hawai'i 96813
Dear Lieutenant Governor Chin:
Re: Availability of Unconcealed-Carry Licenses
This letter responds to your request for a formal legal
opinion clarifying the authority of chiefs of police to issue
licenses permitting the unconcealed carry of firearms.
Your inquiry arises from ongoing litigation challenging the
constitutionality of a portion of section 134-9, Hawai'i Revised
Statutes (HRS), which provides that [w]here the urgency or the
need has been sufficiently indicated, the respective chief of
police may issue a license authorizing an otherwise-qualified
applicant who is engaged in the protection of life and property
to carry an unconcealed firearm within the county. In Young v.
Hawaii, a divided panel of the Ninth Circuit construed this
provision as [r]estricting open carry to those whose job entails
protecting life or property, such as security guard[s]. 896
F.3d 1044, 1071 (9th Cir. 2018). The panel held that, so
construed, the unconcealed-carry provision violates the Second
Amendment. Id. Both the County of Hawai'i and the State of
Hawai'i have announced that they intend to seek panel rehearing or
rehearing en banc of that decision.
For the reasons set forth below, we advise that the Young
panel's construction of section 134-9, HRS, is overly restrictive.
By its plain text, section 134-9 does not limit unconcealed-carry
Op. No. 18-1](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.sag/saghi0092&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)