Hawaii lawmakers are pushing a bill to ban the sale of ivory to help stop poachers from killing thousands of elephants each year for their tusks.

The House Committee on Water and Land passed a bill during a hearing last week that would ban the sale of undocumented elephant ivory. The bill would also ban selling parts of other animals, such as tigers, sharks and rhinoceroses.

Animal rights advocates say Hawaii has the third-largest ivory market in the nation, behind New York and California, which have banned its sale. But if left unregulated, they say it could soon become the largest. Federal officials say the state is a prime location for smugglers looking to traffic illegal ivory because it’s a gateway to Asia.

The bill was supported by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Humane Society of the United States and several wildlife conservation organizations that say cracking down on Hawaii’s ivory market would curb the killing of elephants and cut funding for criminal organizations that smuggle ivory.

But the proposal was opposed by local businesses, artists and collectors, who worry they’ll be criminalized for owning legal ivory. Local jewelers and scrimshaw artists say it would put them out of work, while others say it could hurt collectors who own antique guns or musical instruments that are decorated with ivory.