Senate Bill 69 passed in the House Public Safety Committee last Thursday by a 6 to 1 vote, and will be heard by the House Judiciary Committee TOMORROW, March 19 at 2:00 p.m. in House Conference Room 325 at the state Capitol. Introduced by state Senators Will Espero (D-19), Rosalyn Baker (D-6), Brickwood Galuteria (D-12) and Josh Green (D-3), SB 69 was originally a gun “buyback” bill, but has evolved into a firearm registration and background check bill.
In its current form, SB 69 will require fingerprinting and processing through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) in addition to the already existing registration requirement on ALL firearms brought into the state. It will also allocate an unspecified amount of money to each county to process these mandated background checks during a time when budgets and Hawaii’s economy are already strained. Please contact members of the House Judiciary Committee TODAY in opposition to SB 69.
Individuals who bring firearms into Hawaii from another state, even on a temporary basis, are already required to register their firearms within 72 hours. SB 69 now adds a fingerprinting, photographing AND a background check requirement on the gun owner in addition to the already burdensome registration requirement on such legally possessed firearms. These requirements are so onerous that if one acquired an antique firearm or an unusable or unserviceable firearm, they would still have to undergo the entire background check, registration and fingerprinting process. Hunters and shooters beware, when traveling to Hawaii make sure to allocate at least one or two days to stand in line to register your firearm and undergo fingerprinting and a NICS check.
In summary, what is known is that SB 69 presents no viable solutions that would make improvements to Hawaii, but instead attacks law-abiding citizens who are choosing to exercise the right to own a firearm.
Please contact members of the House Judiciary Committee TODAY in opposition to SB 69 using their contact information provided here. Also, please submit your written opposition to SB 69 here.
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