Hawaiʻi saw the steepest increase in gun fatalities of any state in the decade ending in 2023, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Gun deaths in the islands are rare, but increasing. The state, which has relatively strong gun laws, consistently ranks in the bottom five states for gun fatality rates. The national average in 2023 was about 14 gun-related fatalities per 100,000 people; Hawaiʻi’s rate was just 4.9. That year, only Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts had lower rates.
On average, guns killed about 58 Hawaiʻi residents each year from 2014 to 2023, according to CDC data. That includes homicides and suicides…