Honolulu Police Department Responds to Request for Approved Firearm Instructors

February 19, 2026
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Honolulu Police Department's recent response to a public records request from Hawaii gun owners has exposed a glaring transparency gap in the islands' already restrictive firearms training ecosystem. As detailed in the request's fallout, the HPD provided a list of approved instructors—but only after significant prodding—and even then, it left residents scrambling with no straightforward, independent method to verify legitimacy. This isn't just bureaucratic foot-dragging; it's a symptom of Hawaii's iron-fisted gun control regime, where the state holds a monopoly on certifying who can teach you your Second Amendment rights. For Aloha State's 2A enthusiasts, this means navigating a maze of potential scammers or unqualified trainers without a public registry, forcing reliance on word-of-mouth or HPD's say-so, all while facing some of the nation's strictest permitting hurdles. Digging deeper, this saga underscores a clever—if insidious—control mechanism: by gatekeeping instructor approvals, Hawaii doesn't just limit carry permits (they issue a measly few hundred annually despite a population of 1.4 million); it throttles the very pipeline of informed, rights-asserting citizens. Imagine wanting to exercise your concealed carry rights but having no reliable way to vet the person drilling you on safe handling—it's like handing out driver's licenses without a DMV directory of certified instructors. Pro-2A advocates see this as low-key sabotage, echoing Bruen's mandate for shall-issue regimes without such arbitrary barriers. Nationally, it spotlights why red states like Florida or Texas thrive with open instructor lists and minimal red tape, fostering robust training markets that empower owners rather than ensnare them. The implications for the broader 2A community? A rallying cry for federal oversight and lawsuits challenging these opaque practices—after all, if the government can verify Uber drivers in real-time, why not armed citizens' trainers? Hawaii owners should FOIA harder, band together for class-actions, and push for legislative fixes like public dashboards. This isn't just a local headache; it's a blueprint for how blue-state bureaucrats erode rights one unlisted instructor at a time. Stay vigilant, train smart, and keep the pressure on—your right to bear arms includes the right to know who's schooling you on it.

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Honolulu Police Department’s recent response to a public records request from Hawaii gun owners has exposed a glaring transparency gap in the islands’ already restrictive firearms training ecosystem. As detailed in the request’s fallout, the HPD provided a list of approved instructors—but only after significant prodding—and even then, it left residents scrambling with no straightforward, independent method to verify legitimacy. This isn’t just bureaucratic foot-dragging; it’s a symptom of Hawaii’s iron-fisted gun control regime, where the state holds a monopoly on certifying who can teach you your Second Amendment rights. For Aloha State’s 2A enthusiasts, this means navigating a maze of potential scammers or unqualified trainers without a public registry, forcing reliance on word-of-mouth or HPD’s say-so, all while facing some of the nation’s strictest permitting hurdles.

Digging deeper, this saga underscores a clever—if insidious—control mechanism: by gatekeeping instructor approvals, Hawaii doesn’t just limit carry permits (they issue a measly few hundred annually despite a population of 1.4 million); it throttles the very pipeline of informed, rights-asserting citizens. Imagine wanting to exercise your concealed carry rights but having no reliable way to vet the person drilling you on safe handling—it’s like handing out driver’s licenses without a DMV directory of certified instructors. Pro-2A advocates see this as low-key sabotage, echoing Bruen’s mandate for shall-issue regimes without such arbitrary barriers. Nationally, it spotlights why red states like Florida or Texas thrive with open instructor lists and minimal red tape, fostering robust training markets that empower owners rather than ensnare them.

The implications for the broader 2A community? A rallying cry for federal oversight and lawsuits challenging these opaque practices—after all, if the government can verify Uber drivers in real-time, why not armed citizens’ trainers? Hawaii owners should FOIA harder, band together for class-actions, and push for legislative fixes like public dashboards. This isn’t just a local headache; it’s a blueprint for how blue-state bureaucrats erode rights one unlisted instructor at a time. Stay vigilant, train smart, and keep the pressure on—your right to bear arms includes the right to know who’s schooling you on it.

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