Original sentence: New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and California, (where rural officials liberally issue permits, but urban officials seldom do); to "almost non-issue" in states such as Maryland (where even documented death threats have been insufficient to persuade officials to issue licenses); to "never-issue" Hawaii, (where licenses are never issued under any circumstances)
Edited sentence: New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and California, (where rural officials liberally issue permits, but urban officials seldom do unless the applicant has political connections or is a wealthy celebrity); to "almost non-issue" in states such as Maryland (where even documented death threats have been insufficient to persuade officials to issue licenses); to "never-issue" Hawaii, (where licenses are never issued under any circumstances)