Hawaii Legislative Session Adjourns, Marking the Defeat of Several Anti-Gun Bills

News Release from NRA-ILA, May 6, 2024

On Friday, May 3rd, the Hawaii legislature adjourned sine die from their 2024 session. While Senate Bill 2845 passed in the final days of the legislative session and will restrict ammunition possession by individuals under 21, several anti-gun bills failed to advance this year. Thank you to NRA members and Second Amendment supporters for your active involvement during this year’s session.

With the adjournment of the 2024 session, the following anti-gun bills are now defeated:

Senate Bill 3196, as introduced, would have expanded upon Hawaii’s existing “assault pistol” ban to now include other commonly owned rifles and shotguns by instituting restrictions based on the name of the firearm and a “single feature” test. SB 3196 was poorly drafted and expansive in such a fashion that so-called “features” could be left open to interpretation.

Senate Bill 3349 would have established the state’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention under the Office of the Attorney General. SB 3349 states that the purpose of the new office is to develop strategies to prevent and address gun violence in Hawaii. In reality, this is part of the White House agenda, announced late last year calling for states to develop their own offices. While the purported goal of addressing violence in our communities is a worthy cause, the reality is this is nothing more than a taxpayer funded propaganda shop to push anti-gun policies without actually addressing crime in our communities.

NRA will be back in Honolulu for the 2025 session and will continue working to protect Second Amendment rights in the Aloha State. In the meantime, please stay tuned to the NRA-ILA website and your email inbox for further updates.