THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
401 |
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025 |
S.D. 2 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
H.D. 1 |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO FIREARMS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Section 134-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:
1. By adding seven new definitions to be appropriately inserted and to read:
"".50 caliber firearm" means a firearm that is not a shotgun with the capacity to fire ammunition of .50 caliber of higher. ".50 caliber firearm" does not include antique firearms or muzzleloaders.
"Antique firearm" shall have
the same meaning as provided in title 18 United States Code section 921(a)(16).
"Assault
rifle" means a semiautomatic rifle:
(1) With an overall length less than
thirty inches;
(2) That has a fixed magazine with the
capacity to accept more than ten rounds, except for an attached tubular device
designed to accept, and capable of operating only with, .22 caliber rimfire
ammunition; or
(3) That accepts a detachable magazine
or that may be readily modified to accept a detachable magazine and has one or
more of the following characteristics:
(A) A folding, telescoping, or
detachable stock, or a stock that is otherwise foldable or adjustable in a
manner that operates to reduce the length, the size, or any dimension, or
otherwise enhances the concealability of the weapon;
(B) A pistol grip or thumbhole stock;
(C) Any feature capable of functioning
as a protruding grip that can be held by the non-trigger hand;
(D) A flash suppressor;
(E) A shroud that is attached to or
partially or completely encircles the barrel and permits the shooter to hold
the firearm with the second hand without being burned, but excluding a slide
that encloses the barrel;
(F) A bayonet mount;
(G) A grenade launcher; or
(H) A threaded barrel capable of
accepting a barrel extender, flash suppressor, forward hand grip, or silencer.
"Assault
shotgun" means a semiautomatic shotgun that has one or more of the
following characteristics:
(1) Accepts a detachable magazine;
(2) Has a revolving cylinder;
(3) A pistol grip or thumbhole stock;
(4) Any feature capable of functioning
as a protruding grip that can be held by the non-trigger hand;
(5) A folding, telescoping, or
detachable stock, or a stock that is otherwise foldable or adjustable in a
manner that operates to reduce the length, the size, or any dimension, or
otherwise enhances the concealability of the weapon;
(6) A grenade launcher; or
(7) A fixed magazine with the capacity
to hold more than five rounds.
"Detachable
magazine" means an ammunition feeding device that may be removed from a
firearm without disassembly of the firearm action, including an ammunition
feeding device that may be readily removed from a firearm with the use of a
bullet, cartridge, or accessory, or other tool, or any other object that
functions as a tool, including a bullet or cartridge.
"Fixed magazine" means an ammunition feeding device that is permanently attached to a firearm, or contained in and not removable from a firearm, or that is otherwise not a detachable magazine, but does not include an attached tubular device designed to accept, and capable of operating only with, .22 caliber rimfire ammunition.
"Muzzleloaders" means any pistol, rifle, or shotgun that loads from the muzzle, or the open end of a weapon, from which the ammunition is discharged."
2. By amending the definition of "assault pistol" to read:
""Assault pistol" means a semiautomatic pistol that accepts a detachable magazine and has two or more of the following characteristics:
(1) An ammunition magazine that attaches to the pistol outside of the pistol grip;
(2) A threaded barrel capable of accepting a barrel extender, flash suppressor, forward hand grip, or silencer;
(3) A shroud that is attached to or partially or completely encircles the barrel and permits the shooter to hold the firearm with the second hand without being burned;
(4) A manufactured weight of fifty ounces or more when the pistol is unloaded;
(5) A centerfire pistol with an overall length of twelve inches or more; or
(6) It is a semiautomatic version of an automatic firearm;
but does
not include a firearm with a barrel sixteen or more inches in length, an
antique firearm that is a pistol [as defined in this section], or
a curio or relic as those terms are used in title 18 United States Code
section 921(a)(13) or title 27 Code of Federal Regulations section
478.11."
3. By repealing the definition of "antique pistol or revolver".
[""Antique
pistol or revolver" means any pistol or revolver manufactured before 1899
and any replica thereof if it either is not designed or redesigned for using
rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition or is designed or
redesigned to use rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition that is
no longer manufactured in the United States and is not readily available in the
ordinary channels of commercial trade."]
SECTION 2. Section 134-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§134-4 Transfer,
possession of firearms.
(a) No transfer of any rifle
having a barrel length of sixteen inches or over or any shotgun having a barrel
length of eighteen inches or over, whether usable or unusable, serviceable or
unserviceable, modern or antique, registered under prior law or by a prior
owner, or unregistered shall be made to any person under the age of eighteen
years, except as provided by section 134-5.
(b) No person shall possess any firearm that is
owned by another, regardless of whether the owner has consented to possession
of the firearm, without a permit from the chief of police of the appropriate
county, except as provided in subsection (c) and section 134-5.
(c) Any lawfully acquired rifle or shotgun may be
lent to an adult for use within the State for a period not to exceed fifteen
days without a permit; provided that where the rifle or shotgun is to be used
outside of the State, the loan may be for a period not to exceed seventy-five
days.
(d) No person shall intentionally, knowingly, or
recklessly lend a firearm to any person who is prohibited from ownership,
possession, or control of a firearm under section 134-7.
(e) After July 1, 1992, no person shall bring or cause to be brought into the State an assault pistol. No assault pistol may be sold or transferred on or after July 1, 1992, to anyone within the State other than to a dealer licensed under section 134-32 or the chief of police of any county except that any person who obtains title by bequest or intestate succession to an assault pistol registered within the State shall, within ninety days, render the weapon permanently inoperable, sell or transfer the weapon to a licensed dealer or the chief of police of any county, or remove the weapon from the State.
(f) After July 8, 2025, except as provided by section 134‑8(e), no person shall bring or cause to be brought into the State an assault rifle, an assault shotgun, or a .50 caliber firearm. No assault rifle, assault shotgun, or .50 caliber firearm shall be sold or transferred on or after July 8, 2025, to anyone within the State, other than to a dealer licensed under section 134-32 or the chief of police of any county, except as provided by section 134-8(e); provided that any person who obtains title by bequest or intestate succession to an assault rifle, an assault shotgun, or a .50 caliber firearm registered within the State shall, within ninety days, render the weapon permanently inoperable, sell or transfer the weapon to a licensed dealer or the chief of police of any county, or remove the weapon from the State."
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] shall
be prohibited: assault pistols,
except as provided by section 134-4(e); assault rifles, except as provided
by section 134-4(f); assault shotguns, except as provided by section 134-4(f); .50
caliber firearm, except as provided by section
134-4(f); 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] 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.
This
subsection shall not apply to a person's possession of an assault rifle, an assault
shotgun, or a .50 caliber firearm
registered to the person before July 8, 2025, pursuant to 134-3.
A
person authorized under this subsection to possess an assault rifle, an assault
shotgun, or a .50 caliber firearm
shall possess that weapon only:
(1) On private property owned or
immediately controlled by the person;
(2) On private property that is not open
to the public with the express permission of the person who owns or immediately
controls the property;
(3) While on the premises of a licensed
firearms dealer or gunsmith for the purpose of lawful repair;
(4) While engaged in the legal use of
the assault rifle, assault shotgun, or .50 caliber firearm
at a properly licensed firing range or sport shooting competition venue;
or
(5) While traveling to or from the
locations listed in paragraphs (1) through (4); provided that the assault
rifle, assault shotgun, or .50 caliber firearm
is unloaded in an enclosed container, as defined in section 134-24.
(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] that
are designed for or capable of use with [a pistol is] any firearm
shall be prohibited. 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 134-15, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
"(b)
This section shall not apply to any pistol or revolver duly registered [prior
to] before July 1, 1975, pursuant to section 134-3 or to any antique
[pistol or revolver.] firearm."
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. Every provision in this Act and every application of each provision in this Act is severable from each other. If any application of any provision in this Act to any person or group of persons or circumstances is determined by any court to be invalid, the remainder of this Act and the application of the Act's provisions to all other persons and circumstances shall not be affected. All constitutionally valid applications of this Act shall be severed from any applications that a court determines to be invalid or unenforceable, leaving the valid applications in force, because it is the legislature's intent that all valid applications shall remain in force.
SECTION 7. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 8. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 3000.
Report Title:
Firearms; Gun Safety; Assault Rifles; Assault Shotguns; .50 Caliber Firearms; Detachable Magazines; Prohibition
Description:
Establishes prohibitions on assault rifles, assault shotguns, and .50 caliber firearms. Expands the ban on high-capacity detachable magazines. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.