Webinar: Hawaii Anti-Gun Bills for 2023 Session

from HiFiCo, Jan 31, 2023

The new legislative session has started and there is an overwhelming number of gun bills in the Hawaii Legislature. 49, most for gun control particularly for sensitive places and carry restrictions/requirements. This is not just a Hawaii “thing”. States across the nation are experiencing a surge of gun control pushes. Oregon passed their firearm permits and magazine ban. New York and New Jersey passed their sensitive places bans. Illinois passed an assault weapons ban. Hawaii County’s sensitive places ban is currently in effect.

The SCOTUS NYSRPA v Bruen win last year was supposed to end restrictive gun control laws. However many states, to include Hawaii, follow the “give an inch, take a mile” approach. SCOTUS said in their opinion that any firearm restrictions must have a historical precedent to be constitutional and that they had seen very little historical evidence for sensitive places. Lawmakers have taken this to the extreme justifying gun control laws with old slavery laws, poaching, bail bonds, territorial laws, etc. The fight for 2A rights continue in the legislature and the courts.

HIFICO 2A Legislative Webinar 2-1-23 7pm

Please join us for our annual webinar where we go through the 2A bills introduced in the legislature. Most of the bills are focused on carry restrictions/requirements, sensitive places, and added permit to acquire requirements. There are also bills we haven’t seen before such as firearm industry marketing liability, increased permit fees, vehicle lockbox requirements, and many more!

Wednesday February 1, 2023 7pm
On Zoom:  https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89641974328
On Facebook Live:  www.fb.com/hificoorg

HIFICO Gun and Hunting Bills Tracker

Read through and check the status of the 49 gun bills introduced in the legislature. This tracker is updated daily. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1J-jW_lntqL1UXimSZ7lYoIgLMWRHjInuiKI0LnkzL0w/edit?usp=sharing

The first hearing was held today for the hunting bill HB535 which HIFICO supports. This requires the DLNR to create a game management plan to promote hunting, increase hunting opportunities, and increase hunting education. Basically make hunting better in Hawaii. It also creates the certified hunter program that vets hunters to ease private landowners liability concerns. This could help with the pig and deer overpopulation issues.

SANTUCCI v C&C HONOLULU, Mental Health

We won the Federal injunction for this lawsuit on November 24, 2022 which put a stop to Honolulu Police Departments frivolous mental health denials. It is now HPD’s burden to prove that firearm permit/possession denials are justified for a mental illness that is a threat to life or property. Things like marriage counseling, bed wetting, homesickness, etc cannot be used to deny a person’s 2A right. “No longer adversely affected” letters are not required for these cases anymore.

This ruling does not apply to serious mental illnesses such as those making a person a threat to life or property like violence from PTSD and schizophrenia. This ruling also does not affect medical marijuana card holders. It also currently does not apply to other counties, but it will eventually be applied there as well.

The lawsuit is still continuing in the courts and we feel we have a very good chance we will win it in district court and that it won’t be appealed. The injunction currently stands so tell others who are affected by the injunction to reclaim their confiscated firearms or to reapply for their permit to acquire.

Last month, Santucci, "the homesick sailor", was able to retrieve his confiscated firearms from HPD due to the injunction.

Honolulu City Council’s Bill 57 – Sensitive Places

Honolulu’s sensitive places ban bill will have it’s next hearing on February 7 at 1pm at Honolulu Hale. This is the big day so we are asking everyone to come out in person to testify against this bill. The hearing agenda will be out shortly and I’ll send you more information at that time on what to do.

In the meantime, call or email your district council member and tell them you oppose Bill 57.

Find your city council member: https://www.honolulucitycouncil.org/find-my-councilmember

Bill 57: https://hnldoc.ehawaii.gov/hnldoc/document-download?id=15840