Editorial: Raise the bar on gun regulations

Hawaii gun laws are among the strongest in the nation, the state consistently earning high marks from gun-control advocacy groups. The public may ask, how much stronger could they reasonably get?

As Honolulu witnessed with horror in recent weeks, they absolutely can get stronger — and they should.

Any time there is a mass shooting incident, the impulse to bring up more restrictions comes up, here and nationally. This time, the driving force was very local: the shooting deaths of two police officers outside a quiet Diamond Head residence on Hibiscus Drive; the landlady and her tenant, the shooter, also died in the fire that claimed seven homes in the neighborhood.

The causes of the Jan. 19 attacks are complex, but some common-sense reforms, even if they might not have prevented this particular tragedy, would improve general public safety, going forward.

Two were definitely prompted by the circumstances of that case, however. The shooter, Jerry Hanel, was under a court order banning his possession of a firearm but may have used an unregistered gun that originally belonged to the late husband of the landlady, Lois Cain.

House Bill 2709 would require that a representative, to be appointed to the estate of a deceased gun owner, notify police of firearms that are part of the estate.

The estate would not be allowed to close until police are notified that the guns had been properly disposed of or transferred.

Ammunition, heard exploding in the home as it burned, was also a concern in this case. Gun stores would need proof of legal ownership and registration of a firearm before selling ammunition for that weapon to a customer, if HB 2736 is enacted into law.

Further, HB 1902 would ban large-capacity magazines for rifles. Pistols already are limited to magazines holding 10 rounds of ammunition, and the bill would extend that cap to rifles as well.

A fourth measure, HB 2744, deals with the issue of untraceable guns (“ghost guns”). This bill would make obtaining firearm parts for the purpose of assembling a gun without a serial number a Class C felony; it also would establish the Gun Violence and Violent Crimes commission.

These House bills have crossed over to the Senate, which is encouraging, and fuller discussions with an eye toward enactment must continue.

There is a concurrent fight in the courts that also must continue. The state Department of Attorney General is pushing for constraints by joining a lawsuit against a recent Trump administration rule. That rule, propelled by the technology enabling 3-D printers to manufacture an untraceable weapon, allows the public distribution of downloadable files to make these guns.

Such technological end-runs present a challenge, but for those not convinced about the inherent dangers, here’s an illustration: The gun used in the November school shooting in Santa Clarita, Calif., was a ghost gun manufactured from parts. Hawaii does not need a repeat of such mayhem.

Critics of HB 2744 point to vague wording that they say would implicate the sale of any after-market gun part. Attention must be paid to clear language in the crafting of this measure and of firearms bills generally.

Others cite the need for better mental-health surveillance and services as the key to curbing these assaults. That is certainly part of the picture.

But there is little doubt that greater care in the handling and disposition of guns and ammunition also would lower the risk of gun violence. That, sadly, has become a scourge across the U.S. and in Hawaii as well.

Access to firearms is constitutionally protected, to be sure, but regulation to preserve public safety as well is reasonable. That’s where the bar needs to be raised.