A sledgehammer-wielding lawmaker from Hawaii who smashed shopping carts used by homeless people on the island of Oahu says he's given his unique practice the ax.

State Rep. Tom Brower (D) told ABC News' Honolulu affiliate KITV that "the carts that I've taken have been abandoned…. Some have been near people who are homeless, and I have told them that it's my intention to take the cart."

Brower estimated he smashed up to 30 abandoned, unmarked shopping carts, beginning in late October. He returned a half-dozen marked carts to stores, he told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, and he's hanging up his hammer because he feels he made his point.

"Now that the issue of shopping carts is on our minds, the question is, are we going to move forward and try to solve [homelessness] or just let it become status quo?" he said.

The cart smashing was met with outrage by homeless advocates.

(Image Credit: KITV/ABC News)