Christopher H.

Baker
Hawaii Concealed Carry
3308 Moreell Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96818
808-722-6847

Hawaii Police Department

Records Clerk
349 Kapiolani Street
Hilo, Hawaii 96720

January 14, 2011

RE: RECORDS REQUEST

REF: 140111-HPD-0001

Dear Records Request Officer:

I. FORMAL WRITTEN PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST

This letter constitutes a formally written request in accordance

with Hawaii Administrative Rules (HAR) §2-71-12 Formal requests
for access to government records. When responding to this
written inquiry, please utilize the reference number (140111-
HPD-0001) to allow for proper accountability of correspondence.

This request is directed towards the Hawaii Police Department, a

government agency of Hawaii County, as defined by Hawaii Revised
Statute §92F-3, to also include, but not limited to its agents
and employees, or separate branches of this department, whom
also may possess knowledge or have access to the information
requested herein. If any of the forthcoming government document
requests are not held by the agencies identified above, we ask
that you forward this letter accordingly to the agency or
individual with possession of the requested information.

This formal request seeks to gain access to the government

records requested in proceeding paragraphs. These government
records may be currently held by the agency in the following
forms: written, auditory, visual, electronic, other physical
form, or however else retained.

II. INFORMATION REQUESTED PURSUANT TO HAR §2-71-12

Christopher H. Baker
Hawaii Concealed Carry
3308 Moreell Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96818
808-722-6847

1) The server, e-mail platform (i.e., Microsoft Exchange), and e-

mail retention policy for the Hawaii County Police Department.

2) From 01 January, 2010 – 01 January, 2011, any policies, memos,

or informational handouts issued by the Chief of Police that
are in regards to open carry, concealed carry, carry permits,
or firearm permits.

3) The most current policy promulgated by Hawaii County Chief of

Police, Harry S. Kubojiri, that maintains his compliance with
HRS §134-91.

4) If not contained within the scope of information from §II Part

(3)of this request. The most current policy or procedure
promulgated by the Chief of Police that defines his
requirements of HRS §134-9(b) (1) and the phrase, “Be
qualified to use the firearm in a safe manner.”

5) A copy of the Hawaii Police Departments application for a

concealed firearms permit, and any required forms that would
be submitted to the agency in order to meet the requirements
of HRS §134-9 during the application process, such as, but not
limited to: mental health disclosure waivers.

6) A copy of the Hawaii Police Departments application to openly

carry a firearm.

III DISCLOSURE OF DOCUMENTS REQUIRED

1
HRS §134-9 requires the following:
(b) The chief of police of each county shall adopt procedures
to require that any person granted a license to carry a
concealed weapon on the person shall:
(1) Be qualified to use the firearm in a safe manner;
(2) Appear to be a suitable person to be so licensed;
(3) Not be prohibited under section 134-7 from the
ownership or possession of a firearm; and
(4) Not have been adjudged insane or not appear to be
mentally deranged. (emphasis added)
Christopher H. Baker
Hawaii Concealed Carry
3308 Moreell Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96818
808-722-6847

All government records are open to the public unless access is

restricted or closed by law2.

The requested documents are not readily available to the public.

Additionally, they are not burdened by any exceptions, as such,
the requested documents and information are required to be
disclosed under §92F-12 Disclosure Required: (1) Rules of
procedure, substantive rules of general applicability,
statements of general policy, and interpretations of general
applicability adopted by agency, and(15) Information collected
and maintained for the purpose of making information available
to the general public.

IV. LOCATION AND METHOD OF DISCLOSURE

We ask that you provide the requested documents by way of mail,

e-mail, or download. For any of previously requested public
documents, to which there is an available electronic format, we
request that the same electronic format be made available to us
at the requesters address in the document headers or section
VIII. We do not feel this constitutes a burden to your agency’s
function, and conforms to the requirements of HAR §2-71-18. The
applicable section states:

HAR §2-71-18 Location of disclosure; alternatives -(C)

When a requester requests that a copy of a record be
transmitted by mail, telefax, or other means, the
agency shall make a reasonable effort to transmit the
copy of the record in the manner sought by the
requester.

V. EXCEPTIONS

1. The Privacy Exception

We find no privacy bearing on the requested documents. All

communications at work should be disclosed to the public.
As it is, all communication systems should be utilized for
business use only, not for personal enjoyment. There should
be nothing for a government entity to hide while performing

2
Hawaii Open Records Law Handbook: Page 13, “Disclosure
Provisions”
Christopher H. Baker
Hawaii Concealed Carry
3308 Moreell Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96818
808-722-6847

the general duties of their office. This is obviously not

in reference to those communications that lie under the
exempted provisions of Law Enforcement investigations.
Therefore we believe all requested documents should not be
burned by the privacy exemption.

There are no individuals who may have a direct or

significant privacy interest contained in the requested
documents. If a significant privacy interest were to be
found, it is not imagined that it would outweigh the factor
of public interest. In fact, even if a privacy concern was
identified, if the public interest outweighs that of the
individuals privacy concern, your agency is required by law
to disclose the documents requested (HRS §92F-13(1)).

We have not found any of the provisions within HRS §92F-14

Significant Privacy Interest, to apply to the requested
public information. We do, however, strongly believe that
the requested documents fall greatly within the scope of
the public interest of disclosure. The requested documents
will unquestionably provide a beam of light upon the Hawaii
Police Department’s performance within its statutory
purposes and the conduct of its officers and agents. If
those reasons were not enough, the requested documents
promotes government accountability, by ensuring the police
department is operating in compliance with state laws,
policies and procedures, ensuring citizens are given their
equal protection of laws and due process guaranteed by the
both the federal and state constitution.

2. Litigation Exception

Currently, no litigation is pending against the state in

regards to the requested documents. Therefore, we do not
foresee your ability to utilize HRS §92F-13(2) to deny our
request.

3. The Frustration Exception

It is certainly no frustration to the Hawaii Police Department,

or any other applicable agency to have these documents made
readily available to the public. In fact, wide-spread
dissemination of this information would ease any burdens placed
Christopher H. Baker
Hawaii Concealed Carry
3308 Moreell Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96818
808-722-6847

upon the agency. The requested information does not fall within
the scopes of HRS §92F-13 (3), sections (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6) or
(7).

4. Law or Order, and Legislative Exception

No provisions of Hawaii state law is believed to exempt the

agencies from the requester’s inquiry. We have located no
official opinions from the Office of Information Practices that
will preclude you from disclosing the requested information.

VI RESPONSE TO FORMAL REQUEST

A response is expected within, at a maximum, ten business days

from the receipt of this letter (HAR §2-71-13, (A)). Should
there be any issues that arise, a written notice, is still
required within ten days (maximum) of receipt of this request.

VII ASSESSMENT OF FEES; PRE-PAYMENT AND WAIVERS

We are willing to pay reasonable direct costs related to this

request. This includes single copies of documents, media (CD’s),
and applicable fees dictated by legislation. Agencies are
required to waive the first $30.00 USD of fees for requests.

1. PREPAYMENT – The agency may only demand fifty-percent of

the total estimated fees for searching for, reviewing,
and segregating records, when the estimated fees exceed
$30.00. If other services are required to prepare or
transmit the requested documents or information 100% of
those fees may be requested by your agency.
2. Waivers HAR §2-71-32 – Agencies shall waive $60 of the
fees that may be assed when: The requester finds that the
waiver of fees would be in the public interest, the
request for a waiver of fees is supported by a statement
of facts, including the requester’s identity.

Statement of Facts:

Hawaii Concealed Carry (HCCW) is an interest group who promotes

education of the Second Amendment. The information requested
directly relates to the groups purpose of promoting, restoring,
Christopher H. Baker
Hawaii Concealed Carry
3308 Moreell Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96818
808-722-6847

and educating the populace on the Second Amendment rights

guaranteed by the United States and Hawaii Constitutions.

These requested records and documents are not readily available

to the public domain. We have found no references to these forms
or applications online anywhere. Many other forms and
information can be found on agencies websites (e.g.,
www.ehawaii.gov) and provide true and reasonable access to those
documents.

It is our absolute intention to disseminate this information to

the public, not just across the islands, but nationally as well.
Currently, HCCW has over 250 members, with many ties through
social media, online forums and web presences. Our group reaches
out to numerous unique visitors on a daily basis; we have ties
to many forums based on firearms and related topics; we also
maintain access to various and mailing and distribution lists.
Distributing information to the public at large is a common
operation of the organization.

We find that it’s critical to the operation of a government that

its citizens are made aware of the policies and procedures that
it is governed by. There is a significant public interest in
ensuring that firearm carry permits are being managed in a
constitutional manner; that persons are not being coerced or
discouraged from applying for a permit to carry pursuant to HRS
§134-9; that persons are not being unjustly denied their due
process in attempting to apply, by being refused access to these
forms and documents.

VII Severability

The requested information may be viewed as severable. If you are

unable to provide all of the requests, or a request raises large
amounts of questions, we request that all other information be
released in a timely fashion. If our request is denied in whole
or in any part, we require that you justify all deletions and
denials by specifying the exact reference to the legal
exemptions of the act and provide proper legal citation.

VIII CONTACT INFORMATION

All E-mail should be directed to Chris@Hawaiiccw.com.

Christopher H. Baker
Hawaii Concealed Carry
3308 Moreell Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96818
808-722-6847

All mailings should be sent to the following address:

Christopher H. Baker
Hawaii Concealed Carry
3308 Moreell Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96818

Should you require the ability to converse with us by telephone,

we may be contacted at 808-722-6847.

Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,

Christopher H. Baker