People who report being diagnosed with a behavioral, emotional or mental disorder can no longer be prevented from registering a firearm in the City and County of Honolulu, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson made permanent a preliminary injunction he issued in November, which ruled that the Honolulu Police Department could not bar a U.S. Navy officer from registering firearms because he reported seeking counseling for feeling homesick and depressed on the registration form.
The HPD can also no longer require an applicant for a firearm permit to provide written certification from a psychiatrist, psychologist or doctor.
Since November, HPD has changed its registration forms.
The judge also ruled that Honolulu must pay legal costs of $102,500, and the state of Hawaii must pay $28,000, pending negotiations.
“This lawsuit absolutely helped people’s Second Amendment rights and beyond anything else, it helps their medical rights,” said Alan Beck, a San Diego–based lawyer who worked with Honolulu lawyer Kevin O’Grady on the lawsuit.
People who want to register a firearm might no longer defer seeking therapy, he said.
“People have a right to seek therapy and psychiatric help without having the government intrude upon their rights,” Beck said. “This is a system that penalizes people that have sought out, voluntarily, psychiatric treatment.”
“Today marks another significant victory for the Second Amendment in Hawaii, all thanks to a homesick sailor,” the Hawaii Firearms Coalition announced in a social media post Thursday morning.
More Information From City Pending
It all began when Michael Santucci, a Navy officer, was stationed in Hawaii in February 2021. After a few months, he was feeling depressed and homesick and went to see a medical provider, according to the lawsuit he filed. A couple months later, he went to HPD to fill out forms to register his firearms.
To the question, “Have you been diagnosed as having a behavioral, emotional, or mental disorder(s)?” Santucci answered “yes” and added “not serious.”
HPD then took his guns away and handed him a new form requiring written certification from a psychiatrist, doctor or psychologist saying he’s no longer “adversely affected.”
HPD halted his application. Santucci sued.
When the judge issued the preliminary injunction in November, Santucci got his guns back. Then HPD added more specific fields to its questionnaire. Now the injunction is permanent, banning the old forms for good.
With the new forms, vetting has grown more detailed without eroding enforcement.
“Hawaii’s firearms laws — including the state’s prohibition on firearms possession by individuals diagnosed with a significant mental disorder — remain fully enforceable statewide,” said Dave Day, a special assistant to the Hawaii Attorney General.
Lawyers for the City and County of Honolulu also don’t think the ruling will have any impact on who might be eligible to register firearms.
“HPD will have better and more detailed information from members of the public who wish to register firearms,” Corporation Counsel Dana Viola said in a statement. “Further, because of the changes to forms and procedures, the circumstances that led to the Santucci case will not happen again.”
HPD can still conduct mental health background checks, Viola said.
Beck, who pressed the case, says the new ruling only sets in stone the preliminary injunction issued in November.
“The preliminary injunction did all the heavy lifting,” Beck said. “We exposed that, hey, we’ve got a law here that simply doesn’t make sense.”
