HONOLULU -- In 2009, 95 percent of the applications were approved, meaning a record high 33,678 firearms were registered last year, outpacing the previous year by 30 percent.

A record 66 percent of the guns registered were so-called long arms such as rifles and shotguns in which only one permit is needed for several guns. Handgun owners need a permit for each gun.

The numbers don't come as a surprise to the president of the Hawaii Rifle Association who says more people these days want to protect their homes.

"We have a fantastic police force here, but they can't be everywhere all the time," said Harvey Gerwig, Hawaii Rifle Association president. "People are recognizing 'it's my responsibility to protect me and my family.'"

Gerwig also believes residents are reacting to the current administration in the White House.

"I think any time you have a citizenship who is uneasy with their government, especially the federal government, and they're concerned the Clinton gun ban of the 1994 era may come back to play, then there's going to be an uneasiness there," said Gerwig.

Some local gun dealers said Hawaii's law that requires all guns to be registered is one reason for the high numbers. A little more than half of the firearms registered last year were brought into the state, with the rest being in-state transfers.

But Gerwig believes more people are just practicing their second amendment right.

"More guns in the hands of your average citizen, the less crime there is. And it's shown across the nation very definitively," said Gerwig.

One percent of the applications were rejected last year because applicants had prior criminal convictions or pending criminal cases.

It's been said that Hawaii has some of the toughest guns laws in the country.

There's no way to track the firearms that permanently leave the state, but it's estimated there is roughly a million privately owned firearms in Hawaii.