A shooting at a park in Ala Moana, Hawaii this week has sparked a debate over the efficacy of “gun-free zones” in one of the most hostile places for our Second Amendment rights.
According to authorities, an 18-year-old was shot during an altercation this week at the Ala Moana Beach Park (which is one of Hawaii’s “sensitive places” where lawful concealed carry is prohibited), and a 19-year-old and 21-year-old have been taken into custody in connection with the shooting.
Advocates against gun violence said this is an example of how restrictions work.
“This is a case where one person had a gun and that turned out tragically. Imagine if dozens of people at the beach park had a gun because we made it legal for them to have it there. Every fight, every argument would escalate into a gun fight,” explained Chris Marvin, Everytown’s Veteran Council.
We don’t have to imagine Marvin’s hypothetical because most of the country isn’t nearly as restrictive as Hawaii is when it comes to banning concealed carry. There are tens of millions of Americans lawfully carrying a firearm on any given day, yet the number of concealed carry holders arrested or charged with any crime of violence is far less than 1% of the gun-toting population.
This shooting isn’t evidence that Hawaii’s “gun-free zones” are keeping people safe. It’s evidence that criminals don’t care about violating a “no guns allowed” policy… or obtaining a carry license in the first place. While local media hasn’t said whether the 21-year-old who was arrested had a valid carry permit, my guess is that if he did the press would be putting that information front and center in its reporting. The 19-year-old who was arrested can’t get a carry permit under Hawaii law, which just further proves the point that, despite Marvin’s desperate claims to the contrary, these “gun-free zones” are far more likely to disarm lawful gun owners than those with criminal intent.
There have been at least four shootings in public spaces since Honolulu’s Sensitive Places Law went into effect in 2023.
Marvin said more weapons always equal more violence and good guys with guns shouldn’t think they’re vigilantes.
“They are the police, that they are the military. They are not. They are not trained to that degree. I was in the military. I went to combat. We preach training, safety and accountability around firearms in all aspects of the military. And we need to see more of that in civilian life,” Marvin said.
If more guns always equal more violence, then violent crime and homicides in the U.S. would increase each and every year, right along with the millions of new firearms that are purchased. But that isn’t the case at all. In fact, after a spike in 2020 that can largely be blamed on COVID shutting down the courts and the civil unrest and riots sparked by George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, homicides are once again plunging at historic rates, and the U.S. is near historic lows in homicides and violent crimes.
It’s worth noting, by the way, that while Marvin is a member of Everytown’s Veteran Council, he also claims the gun control group as a client of his PR firm Marvin Strategies on his LinkedIn page. Maybe Marvin truly believes the claptrap he’s speaking, but he also has a vested interest in promoting the bat-guano crazy idea that a shooting in a “gun-free zone” actually proves how effective they are. I don’t know what Everytown is paying him, but I hope they keep shoveling money towards his ineffective messaging in the future, because his spin on sensitive places is more of an in-kind contribution to Second Amendment advocates than a boost to Everytown’s anti-gun efforts.
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