REPORT TITLE:
Firearms; Restrictions


DESCRIPTION:
Prohibits the ownership of pistols and revolvers effective
7/1/00.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        1919
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO FIREARMS.
 


BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  Chapter 134, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
 2 by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to
 
 3 read as follows:
 
 4      "§134-    Possession, sale, or transfer of pistol or
 
 5 revolver prohibited.  (a)  After June 30, 2000, no person shall
 
 6 possess a pistol or revolver, except as provided by this section
 
 7 or section 134-9 or 134-11.  Any person who possesses a pistol or
 
 8 revolver registered within the State prior to July 1, 2000, shall
 
 9 render the weapon permanently inoperable, sell or transfer the
 
10 weapon to a licensed dealer or the chief of police of any county,
 
11 or remove the weapon from the State prior to October 1, 2000.
 
12      (b)  After June 30, 2000, no person shall acquire, bring, or
 
13 cause to be brought into the State a pistol or revolver.  No
 
14 pistol or revolver may be sold or transferred after June 30,
 
15 2000, to anyone within the State other than to a dealer licensed
 
16 under section 134-32 or the chief of police of any county;
 
17 provided that any person who obtains title by bequest or
 
18 intestate succession, after June 30, 2000, to a pistol or
 
19 revolver registered within the State shall render the weapon
 

 
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 1 permanently inoperable, sell or transfer the weapon to a licensed
 
 2 dealer or the chief of police of any county, or remove the weapon
 
 3 from the State within ninety days of obtaining title.
 
 4      (c)  This section shall not apply to any antique pistol or
 
 5 revolver."
 
 6      SECTION 2.  Section 134-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 7 amended to read as follows:
 
 8      "§134-2 Permits to acquire.(a)  No person shall acquire
 
 9 the ownership of a firearm, whether usable or unusable,
 
10 serviceable or unserviceable, modern or antique, registered under
 
11 prior law or by a prior owner or unregistered, either by
 
12 purchase, gift, inheritance, bequest, or in any other manner,
 
13 whether procured in the State or imported by mail, express,
 
14 freight, or otherwise, until the person has first procured from
 
15 the chief of police of the county of the person's place of
 
16 business or, if there is no place of business, the person's
 
17 residence or, if there is neither place of business nor
 
18 residence, the person's place of sojourn, a permit to acquire the
 
19 ownership of a firearm as prescribed in this section.  When title
 
20 to any firearm is acquired by inheritance or bequest, the
 
21 foregoing permit shall be obtained before taking possession of a
 
22 firearm; provided that upon presentation of a copy of the death
 
23 certificate of the owner making the bequest, any heir or legatee
 

 
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 1 may transfer the inherited or bequested firearm directly to a
 
 2 dealer licensed under section 134-31 or licensed by the United
 
 3 States Department of the Treasury without complying with the
 
 4 requirements of this section.
 
 5      (b)  The permit application form shall include the
 
 6 applicant's name, address, sex, height, weight, date of birth,
 
 7 place of birth, social security number, and information regarding
 
 8 the applicant's mental health history and shall require the
 
 9 fingerprinting and photographing of the applicant by the police
 
10 department of the county of registration; provided that where
 
11 fingerprints and photograph are already on file with the
 
12 department, these may be waived.
 
13      (c)  An applicant for a permit shall sign a waiver at the
 
14 time of application, allowing the chief of police of the county
 
15 issuing the permit access to any records that have a bearing on
 
16 the mental health of the applicant.  The permit application form
 
17 and the waiver form shall be prescribed by the attorney general
 
18 and shall be uniform throughout the State.
 
19      (d)  The chief of police of the respective counties may
 
20 issue permits to acquire firearms to citizens of the United
 
21 States of the age of twenty-one years or more, or duly accredited
 
22 official representatives of foreign nations, or duly commissioned
 
23 law enforcement officers of the State who are aliens; provided
 

 
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 1 that any law enforcement officer who is the owner of a firearm
 
 2 and who is an alien shall transfer ownership of the firearm
 
 3 within forty-eight hours after termination of employment from a
 
 4 law enforcement agency.  The chief of police of each county may
 
 5 issue permits to aliens of the age of eighteen years or more for
 
 6 use of rifles and shotguns for a period not exceeding sixty days,
 
 7 upon a showing that the alien has first procured a hunting
 
 8 license under chapter 183D, part II.  The chief of police of each
 
 9 county may issue permits to aliens of the age of twenty-one years
 
10 or more for use of firearms for a period not exceeding six
 
11 months, upon a showing that the alien is in training for a
 
12 specific organized sport-shooting contest to be held within the
 
13 permit period.  The attorney general shall adopt rules, pursuant
 
14 to chapter 91, as to what constitutes sufficient evidence that an
 
15 alien is in training for a sport-shooting contest.
 
16 Notwithstanding any provision of the law to the contrary and upon
 
17 joint application, the chief of police may issue permits to
 
18 acquire firearms jointly to spouses who otherwise qualify to
 
19 obtain permits under this section.
 
20      (e)  The permit application form shall be signed by the
 
21 applicant and by the issuing authority.  One copy of the permit
 
22 shall be retained by the issuing authority as a permanent
 
23 official record.  Except for sales to dealers licensed under
 

 
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 1 section 134-31, or dealers licensed by the United States
 
 2 Department of the Treasury, or law enforcement officers, or where
 
 3 a license is granted under section 134-9, or where any firearm is
 
 4 registered pursuant to section 134-3(a), no permit shall be
 
 5 issued to an applicant earlier than fourteen calendar days after
 
 6 the date of the application; provided that a permit shall be
 
 7 issued or the application denied before the twentieth day from
 
 8 the date of application.  [Permits issued to acquire any pistol
 
 9 or revolver shall be void unless used within ten days after the
 
10 date of issue.  Permits to acquire a pistol or revolver require a
 
11 separate application and permit for each transaction.] Permits
 
12 issued to acquire any rifle or shotgun shall entitle the
 
13 permittee to make subsequent purchases of rifles or shotguns for
 
14 a period of one year from the date of issue without a separate
 
15 application and permit for each acquisition, subject to the
 
16 disqualifications under section 134-7 and subject to revocation
 
17 under section 134-13; provided that if a permittee is arrested
 
18 for committing a felony or any crime of violence or for the
 
19 illegal sale of any drug, the permit shall be impounded and shall
 
20 be surrendered to the issuing authority.
 
21      (f)  [In all cases where a pistol or revolver is acquired
 
22 from another person within the State, the permit shall be signed
 
23 in ink by the person to whom title to the pistol or revolver is
 

 
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 1 transferred and shall be delivered to the person who is
 
 2 transferring title to the firearm, who shall verify that the
 
 3 person to whom the firearm is to be transferred is the person
 
 4 named in the permit and enter on the permit in the space provided
 
 5 the following information:  name of the person to whom the title
 
 6 to the firearm was transferred; names of the manufacturer and
 
 7 importer; model; type of action; caliber or gauge; and serial
 
 8 number as applicable.  The person who is transferring title to
 
 9 the firearm shall sign the permit in ink and cause the permit to
 
10 be delivered or sent by registered mail to the issuing authority
 
11 within forty-eight hours after transferring the firearm.]
 
12      In all cases where receipt of a firearm is had by mail,
 
13 express, freight, or otherwise from sources without the State,
 
14 the person to whom the permit has been issued shall make the
 
15 prescribed entries on the permit, sign the permit in ink, and
 
16 cause the permit to be delivered or sent by registered mail to
 
17 the issuing authority within forty-eight hours after taking
 
18 possession of the firearm.
 
19      In all cases where a rifle or shotgun is acquired from
 
20 another person within the State, the person who is transferring
 
21 title to the rifle or shotgun shall submit, within forty-eight
 
22 hours after transferring the firearm, to the authority which
 
23 issued the permit to acquire, the following information, in
 

 
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 1 writing:  name of the person who transferred the firearm, name of
 
 2 the person to whom the title to the firearm was transferred;
 
 3 names of the manufacturer and importer; model; type of action;
 
 4 caliber or gauge; and serial number as applicable.
 
 5      [(g)  Effective July 1, 1995, no person shall be issued a
 
 6 permit under this section for the acquisition of a pistol or
 
 7 revolver unless the person, at any time prior to the issuance of
 
 8 the permit, has completed:
 
 9      (1)  An approved hunter education course as authorized under
 
10           section 183D-28;
 
11      (2)  A firearms safety or training course or class available
 
12           to the general public offered by a law enforcement
 
13           agency of the State or of any county;
 
14      (3)  A firearms safety or training course offered to law
 
15           enforcement officers, security guards, investigators,
 
16           deputy sheriffs, or any division or subdivision of law
 
17           enforcement or security enforcement by a state or
 
18           county law enforcement agency; or
 
19      (4)  A firearms training or safety course or class conducted
 
20           by a state certified or National Rifle Association
 
21           certified firearms instructor or a certified military
 
22           firearms instructor that provides, at a minimum, a
 
23           total of at least two hours of firing training at a
 

 
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 1           firing range and a total of at least four hours of
 
 2           classroom instruction, which may include a video, that
 
 3           focuses on:
 
 4           (A)  The safe use, handling, and storage of firearms
 
 5                and firearm safety in the home; and
 
 6           (B)  Education on the firearm laws of the State.
 
 7           An affidavit signed by the certified firearms
 
 8           instructor who conducted or taught the course,
 
 9           providing the name, address, and phone number of the
 
10           instructor and attesting to the successful completion
 
11           of the course by the applicant shall constitute
 
12           evidence of certified successful completion under this
 
13           paragraph.]
 
14      [(h)] (g)  No person shall sell, give, lend, or deliver into
 
15 the possession of another any firearm except in accordance with
 
16 this chapter.
 
17      [(i)] (h)  No fee shall be charged for permits, or
 
18 applications for permits, under this section, except for a single
 
19 fee chargeable by and payable to the issuing county, for
 
20 individuals applying for their first permit, in an amount equal
 
21 to the fee actually charged by the Federal Bureau of
 
22 Investigation to the issuing police department for a fingerprint
 
23 check in connection with that application or permit.  In the case
 

 
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 1 of a joint application, the fee provided for in this section may
 
 2 be charged to each person to whom no previous permit has been
 
 3 issued."
 
 4      SECTION 3.  Section 134-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 5 amended to read as follows:
 
 6      "§134-5 Possession by licensed hunters and minors; target
 
 7 shooting; game hunting.(a)  Any person of the age of sixteen
 
 8 years, or over or any person under the age of sixteen years while
 
 9 accompanied by an adult, may carry and use any lawfully acquired
 
10 rifle or shotgun and suitable ammunition while actually engaged
 
11 in hunting or target shooting or while going to and from the
 
12 place of hunting or target shooting; provided that the person has
 
13 procured a hunting license under chapter 183D, part II.  A
 
14 hunting license shall not be required for persons engaged in
 
15 target shooting. 
 
16      (b)  A permit shall not be required when any lawfully
 
17 acquired firearm is lent to a person, including a minor, upon a
 
18 target range or similar facility for purposes of target shooting;
 
19 provided that the period of the loan does not exceed the time in
 
20 which the person actually engages in target shooting upon the
 
21 premises. 
 
22      [(c)  A person may carry unconcealed and use a lawfully
 
23 acquired pistol or revolver while actually engaged in hunting
 

 
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 1 game mammals, if that pistol or revolver and its suitable
 
 2 ammunition are acceptable for hunting by rules adopted pursuant
 
 3 to section 183D-3 and if that person is licensed pursuant to part
 
 4 II of chapter 183D.  The pistol or revolver may be transported in
 
 5 an enclosed container, as defined in section 134-6(c), in the
 
 6 course of going to and from the place of the hunt,
 
 7 notwithstanding section 134-6(d).]"
 
 8      SECTION 4.  Section 134-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 9 amended as follows:
 
10      1.  By amending subsection (a) to read:
 
11      "(a)  [In] Notwithstanding section 134-   and in an
 
12 exceptional case, when an applicant shows reason to fear injury
 
13 to the applicant's person or property, the chief of police of the
 
14 appropriate county may grant a license to an applicant who is a
 
15 citizen of the United States of the age of twenty-one years or
 
16 more or to a duly accredited official representative of a foreign
 
17 nation of the age of twenty-one years or more to carry a pistol
 
18 or revolver and ammunition therefor concealed on the person
 
19 within the county where the license is granted.  Where the
 
20 urgency or the need has been sufficiently indicated, the
 
21 respective chief of police may grant to an applicant of good
 
22 moral character who is a citizen of the United States of the age
 
23 of twenty-one years or more, is engaged in the protection of life
 

 
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                                     H.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 and property, and is not prohibited under section 134-7 from the
 
 2 ownership or possession of a firearm, a license to carry a pistol
 
 3 or revolver and ammunition therefor unconcealed on the person
 
 4 within the county where the license is granted.  Unless renewed,
 
 5 the license shall expire one year from the date of issue."
 
 6      2.  By amending subsection (c) to read:
 
 7      "(c)  No person shall carry concealed or unconcealed on the
 
 8 person a pistol or revolver without being licensed to do so under
 
 9 this section or in compliance with [sections 134-5(c) or] section
 
10 134-6."
 
11      SECTION 5.  Section 134-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
12 amended to read as follows:
 
13      "§134-11  Exemptions.(a)  Sections 134-   and 134-6 to
 
14 134-9, except section 134-7(f), shall not apply:
 
15      (1)  To state and county law enforcement officers; provided
 
16           that such persons are not convicted of an offense
 
17           involving abuse of a family [[]or[]] household member
 
18           under section 709-906;
 
19      (2)  To members of the armed forces of the State and of the
 
20           United States and mail carriers while in the
 
21           performance of their respective duties if those duties
 
22           require them to be armed;
 
23      (3)  To regularly enrolled members of any organization duly
 

 
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 1           authorized to purchase or receive the weapons from the
 
 2           United States or from the State, provided the members
 
 3           are either at, or going to or from, their places of
 
 4           assembly or target practice;
 
 5      (4)  To persons employed by the State, or subdivisions
 
 6           thereof, or the United States while in the performance
 
 7           of their respective duties or while going to and from
 
 8           their respective places of duty if those duties require
 
 9           them to be armed;
 
10      (5)  To aliens employed by the State, or subdivisions
 
11           thereof, or the United States while in the performance
 
12           of their respective duties or while going to and from
 
13           their respective places of duty if those duties require
 
14           them to be armed;
 
15      (6)  To police officers on official assignment in Hawaii
 
16           from any state which by compact permits police officers
 
17           from Hawaii while on official assignment in that state
 
18           to carry firearms without registration.  The governor
 
19           of the State or the governor's duly authorized
 
20           representative may enter into compacts with other
 
21           states to carry out this paragraph.
 
22      (b)  Sections 134-  , 134-2, and 134-3 shall not apply to
 
23 such firearms or ammunition that are a part of the official
 

 
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 1 equipment of any federal agency.
 
 2      (c)  Sections 134-  , 134-6, 134-8, and 134-9 shall not
 
 3 apply to the possession, transportation, or use, with blank
 
 4 cartridges, of any firearm or explosive solely as props for
 
 5 motion picture film or television program production when
 
 6 authorized by the chief of police of the appropriate county
 
 7 pursuant to section 134-2.5 and not in violation of federal law."
 
 8      SECTION 6.  Section 134-17, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 9 amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:
 
10      "(c)  Any person who violates section 134-2, 134-4, 134-10,
 
11 134-15, or 134-16(a) shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.  Any
 
12 person who violates section 134-   shall be guilty of a
 
13 misdemeanor and the firearm shall be confiscated as contraband
 
14 and disposed of in compliance with this chapter.  Any person who
 
15 violates section 134-3(b) shall be guilty of a petty misdemeanor
 
16 and the firearm shall be confiscated as contraband and disposed
 
17 of, if the firearm is not registered within five days of the
 
18 person receiving notice of the violation."
 
19      SECTION 7.  This Act does not affect rights and duties that
 
20 matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were
 
21 begun, before its effective date.
 
22      SECTION 8.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
23 New statutory material is underscored.
 

 
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 1      SECTION 9.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2000.
 
 2 
 
 3                           INTRODUCED BY:_________________________