SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the State has some of the strongest gun safety laws in the nation, having received an A-minus rating from the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. However, the legislature also finds that the State can improve its gun safety laws by prohibiting the new acquisition and use of large-capacity magazines for firearms that can hold more than ten rounds of ammunition. Existing Hawaii law prohibits the use of these magazines with pistols but not with long guns, such as rifles or shotguns.

According to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, large-capacity magazines have been used in all ten of the deadliest mass shootings that have occurred in the last decade. Mass shootings that involve large-capacity magazines result in two to three times as many fatalities as other mass shootings. By enabling a shooter to fire repeatedly without needing to reload, these magazines significantly increase the shooter's ability to quickly injure and kill large numbers of people. For example, using an assault weapon and a drum magazine containing one hundred rounds of ammunition, the perpetrator of the 2019 mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, was able to fire at least forty-one rounds of ammunition in less than thirty seconds. As a result, the shooter was able to kill nine people and wound twenty-six more.

Further, the legislature recognizes that the amount of time a shooter needs to reload a weapon can be a critical factor in allowing would-be victims to escape and for law enforcement or other persons to intervene. In the 2011 mass shooting in Tucson, Arizona, six people were killed and thirteen others were wounded, including United States representative Gabrielle Giffords. Fortunately, the shooting was interrupted when the perpetrator stopped to reload his weapon and was tackled by a bystander. Similarly, during the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, students were able to flee down a stairwell as the shooter paused to reload his weapon.

The purpose of this Act is to reduce gun violence in the State by:

(1) Prohibiting the possession of large-capacity magazines for all types of firearms, unless the magazine was legally in the possession of a person prior to this Act; and

(2) Prohibiting the manufacture, possession, sale, barter, trade, gift, transfer, or acquisition, except by means of inheritance, of large-capacity magazines.

SECTION 2. Section 134-2.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) Upon a finding that public safety is not endangered, the chief of police of the appropriate county may issue permits, initially valid for a period of one year and renewable annually thereafter, for the possession, transportation, or use, with blank cartridges, of firearms [or], explosives, or detachable ammunition magazines with a capacity in excess of ten rounds solely as props for motion picture films or television program production upon a showing that good cause exists for the issuance of a permit to the applicant and upon sufficient proof of a federal firearms license and a state film permit required under section 201-3. No permit shall be issued to a person who is under twenty years of age or who is disqualified under section 134-7."

SECTION 3. Section 134-8, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§134-8 Ownership, etc., of automatic firearms, silencers, etc., prohibited; penalties. (a) The manufacture, possession, sale, barter, trade, gift, transfer, or acquisition of any of the following is prohibited: assault pistols, except as provided by section 134-4(e); automatic firearms; rifles with barrel lengths less than sixteen inches; shotguns with barrel lengths less than eighteen inches; cannons; mufflers, silencers, or devices for deadening or muffling the sound of discharged firearms; hand grenades, dynamite, blasting caps, bombs, or bombshells, or other explosives; or any type of ammunition or any projectile component thereof coated with teflon or any other similar coating designed primarily to enhance its capability to penetrate metal or pierce protective armor; and any type of ammunition or any projectile component thereof designed or intended to explode or segment upon impact with its target.

(b) Any person who installs, removes, or alters a firearm part with the intent to convert the firearm to an automatic firearm shall be deemed to have manufactured an automatic firearm in violation of subsection (a).

(c) The manufacture, possession, sale, barter, trade, gift, transfer, or acquisition of detachable ammunition magazines with a capacity in excess of ten rounds [~~which are designed for or capable of use with a pistol~~] is prohibited[.]; provided that a detachable ammunition magazine with a capacity in excess of ten rounds may be:

(1) Possessed by a person who legally possessed the magazine prior to the effective date of Act ;

(2) Acquired by a person by means of inheritance from another person who legally possessed the magazine prior to the effective date of Act ; or

(3) Acquired, possessed, and used by a law enforcement agency or duly authorized law enforcement officer for official purposes.

This subsection shall not apply to magazines originally

designed to accept more than ten rounds of ammunition [~~which~~] that have been modified to accept no more than ten rounds and [~~which~~] that are not capable of being readily restored to a capacity of more than ten rounds.

(d) Any person violating subsection (a) or (b) shall be guilty of a class C felony and shall be imprisoned for a term of five years without probation. Any person violating subsection (c) shall be guilty of a misdemeanor except when a detachable magazine prohibited under this section is possessed while inserted into a [~~pistol~~] firearm in which case the person shall be guilty of a class C felony."

SECTION 4. Section 134-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:

"(c) Sections 134-8, 134-9, and 134-21 to 134-27, shall not apply to the possession, transportation, or use, with blank cartridges, of any firearm [or], explosive, or detachable ammunition magazine with a capacity in excess of ten rounds solely as props for motion picture film or television program production when authorized by the chief of police of the appropriate county pursuant to section 134-2.5 and not in violation of federal law."

SECTION 5. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

SECTION 6. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Report Title:

Firearms; Large-Capacity Magazine; Prohibition

Description:

Prohibits the manufacture, possession, sale, barter, trade, gift, transfer, or acquisition of detachable ammunition magazines with a capacity in excess of ten rounds, regardless of the type of firearm with which the magazine is compatible. Allows possession of large-capacity magazines that were legally possessed prior to the effective date of this Act. Allows acquisition by means of inheritance of large-capacity magazines that were legally in possession prior to the effective date of this Act. Allows possession and use by law enforcement agencies and officers. Allows the use of blank-fire assault weapons and detachable ammunition magazines with a capacity in excess of ten rounds for use solely as props for motion picture film or television program production when authorized by the chief of police of the appropriate county and not in violation of federal law. (SD2)

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1902
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020		H.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII		S.D. 2