Honolulu agrees to 4-month window to grant or deny gun carrying licenses after lawsuit over delays

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER
Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) — Honolulu has agreed to approve or deny applications to carry guns in public within four months of submission in response to a lawsuit by residents who complained of delays of up to a year. The federal lawsuit filed in March alleged that making applicants wait so long was the city’s way of keeping the permitting process as restrictive as it was before a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision that upended gun laws nationwide. According to a stipulation signed by a judge, Honolulu is also agreeing to implement an online application system. City officials did not immediately comment Friday. Hawaii has long had some of the strictest gun laws in the country.