By Staff Writer
A Samoan from American Samoa but currently a resident in Hawaii has filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Hawaii to own a gun.
Alanoa Nickel, is denied the ability to apply for a permit to own a handgun under Hawaiian law, according to a news media report in the US.
The legal challenge is against US non-citizen nationals restricted under Hawaiian law from owning firearms.
“American Samoans are the only ones affected by this law because people born in the other territories are considered U.S. citizens,” a plaintiff memorandum on the court action explains.
“Plaintiff is a law-abiding U.S. National, a resident of the State of Hawaii and has no disqualifying factor which would prohibit him from legally and safely owning a firearm apart from being a noncitizen U.S. National, ” according to the media report.
“American Samoan noncitizen U.S. Nationals, such as Plaintiff, are part of the ‘people,’” the memorandum reminds the court.
Further, Nickel “is an honorably discharged veteran of the Air National Guard,” and per U.S. Code:
“The term ‘national of the United States’ means (A) a citizen of the United States, or (B) a person who, though not a citizen of the United States, owes permanent allegiance to the United States.
It’s tough to owe permanent allegiance to a government that denies your basic human rights. Yet in spite of that, the memorandum further points out (and documents):
“American Samoa is noted for having the highest rate of military enlistment of any U.S. state or territory. As of September 9, 2014, the local U.S. Army recruiting station in Pago Pago was ranked first in production out of the 885 Army recruiting stations and centers under the United States Army Recruiting Command.”
What’s more, in 2019, a federal judge in Utah ruled that American Samoans are U.S. citizens by birth. (The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to make that apply throughout.)
Still, it’s not like American Samoa’s gun laws are any better than Hawaii’s. All guns owned must be licensed (curiously, the federal Brady Act applies) and there are no provisions to carry for defense. Also curiously, per HandgunLaw.us:
“American Samoa Residents can carry in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi. Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Vermont and West Virginia. These states allow anyone who can legally possess a firearm to carry it concealed without any type of permit/license.”
Fixing the problems in American Samoa (and other U.S. territories like the U.S. Virgin Islands) are issues for other efforts seeing as how “shall not be infringed” is not limited to territories, but routinely ignored throughout the Republic wherever “gun laws” establish prohibitions and prior restraints on the general citizenry. The scope of this issue is limited to Nickel’s challenge and the State of Hawaii has no excuse for perpetuating such blatant discriminatory denial of rights.
Handguns are among the firearms prohibited in Samoa including automatic rifles. A police raid as recent as last week collected several illegal firearms from a male at Faleula–uta.
The arrested suspect is remanded in custody at Tanumalala Prison to await court appearance.