HONOLULU — Gov. David Ige signed three gun-violence-prevention bills into law on Thursday at the State Capitol, which according to lawmakers will protect Hawai‘i’s kupuna and keiki and prohibit the possession of “ghost guns.”
House Bill 1366, now Act 149, goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2022, and will make purchasing, carrying or manufacturing a ghost gun illegal. Should a resident have a ghost gun, they are instructed to turn it in.
A ghost gun is one without a serial number, making it impossible to trace ownership or origin.
“Anyone who wanted to dispose of any firearms can take it down to their respective county police departments and surrender them for destruction,” said Honolulu Police Department Capt. Brian Yamamoto.
State Rep. Patrick Branco, vice-chair of the House Committee on Water and Land, said ghost guns by design are the perfect crime weapon.
According to Branco, these firearms evade the permit and registration process and can be easily produced at home without a license or background check.
“Ghost guns do not represent responsible gun ownership,” Branco said. “Assembling and building ghost guns is not a hobby like putting a ship in a bottle or building a model airplane. Ghost-gun kits can be purchased online by anyone, including prohibited purchasers, domestic abusers and gun traffickers. I want to reiterate the point that these weapons do not have a serial number and are virtually untraceable.”
On Kaua‘i, a resident can turn a ghost gun to the Kaua‘i Police Department by calling KPD dispatch at 241-1711.
“The KPD commends the Hawai‘i State Legislature for passing several important bills this past legislative session that focus on protecting and kupuna, keiki and the public,” KPD Investigative Services Bureau Assistant Chief Bryson Ponce said. “Furthermore, these bills ensure criminal sanctions and penalties for violators.”
HB490 is a bill relating to crimes against seniors, which gives kupuna added protection. Ige said the bill standardizes the age at which certain penalties apply for crimes against kupuna. Going forward that age will be 60.
“It will also apply these penalties if the perpetrator knows or should reasonably know that the victim is a kupuna,” Ige said. “It is my hope that House Bill 490’s passage into law will add further protection to our most-vulnerable and treasured possessions.”
HB31, now Act 148, will protect keiki by raising the age of safe storage of a firearm from 16 to 18. “This will help ensure that individuals with firearms responsibly store them so that they cannot be accessed by an unsupervised minor,” Ige said. “We have seen the stories of tragic results where if this law was in place may not have happened.”
State Rep. Gregg Takayama, whose district includes Pearl City, Waimalu and Pacific Palisades on O‘ahu, is the primary introducer of the bill. “This is a common-sense measure aimed at protecting 16- and 17-year-olds, who are statistically the most prone to attempting suicide,” he said.
“This is not an added burden for responsible gun owners who already recognize the importance of safely securing their firearms from other family members, visitors and intruders. The addition of this bill will aid in promoting weapon-safety for generations to come,” he said.
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Stephanie Shinno, education and business reporter, can be reached at 245-0424 or sshinno@thegardenisland.com.
This would be in relations to the incident in Kapa’a. A church where a semi-automatic was opened in daylight and shown by the person. He was arrested for attempted murder or attempted terroristic threatening.
I am see how this would help. They are targeting neighborhoods where these guns may be owned. So protecting anyone actually. Not just elderlies.
Both HB1366 Act 149, HB 490, and HB31 Act 148, where the latter referring to kids that they cannot give it to other kids. Anybody can purchase a caliber 38 through the internet. Through the mail. Would they monitor this? This definitely would come with a serial number.
I am seeing this more all over.
Well Vampire, you have been misinformed. Firearms CANNOT go through the mail system UNLESS it goes from one licensed dealer to another licensed dealer. A federal firearms license is needed to do this so, NO, “anybody” cannot get firearms, willy nilly through the mail.
Okay. Put serial numbers on the firearms that you make. Problem solved.
Spineless Governor Ige is good for nothing but performance art. When has a “dhost gun” (Oooooh, so spooky) ever been used in a crime? Come to think of it, when has a crime ever been solved by tracing a direarm serial number?
This is pure showboating and it’s getting stale. .
Guns without serial numbers are a problem but home made guns are not found to be used in crimes most of the time. I am sure that posts with differing opinions of the writer will not be published This law will make some people feel better and vote accordingly which it is designed to do Maybe we could make progress with gun violence if we talked about the real problems
Hawaii law already makes it nearly impossible to get a gun and now this? I understand the safety behind it but it is infringing on our right to bare arms, why am I paying taxes for someone to tell me what to do, the laws and control the government has been putting on us is insane and unconstitutional
Nothing in this law will PREVENT illegals and criminals from buying ghost gun kits online and using ghost guns. Sure if they get caught, the law applies but you have to stop them from building them. You need to go to the source and get a federal law that prohibits the selling of ghost guns kits. This law is like throwing marshmallows at your enemy – they will keep on shooting with their ghost gun and your marshmallows hurt nobody. Waste of time Governor.
Same as with marijuana laws being ignored, and with prohibition about 100 years ago. Governments around the country can try to do whatever they want. Doesn’t matter. The tide of culture in the USA has shifted. Gun proliferation is in full force and will effectively nullify measures such as this. In fact you can thank the media and government’s malicious participation in the violence and trauma it either endorsed or took part since early 2020.
Good luck 🙂
“Remember that time we banned home making alcohol?”
“Wasn’t it like a huge success or something?”
“Yeah let’s do that, but with guns”
Well John, how many crimes, with “ghost guns” have been committed on the Island?? Gee, the Ghost Gun crime rate is just underwhelming. Why all the hype??