Lawmakers again move forward on ban of large-capacity rifle magazines

A proposed ban on large- capacity rifle magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition is back on track to pass at the state Capitol despite resistance from dozens of gun owners and despite concerns raised by the state attorney general that the ban as proposed is probably unenforceable.

The Senate Judiciary Committee gave tentative approval Tuesday to House Bill 1902, which would immediately prohibit people in Hawaii from possessing large-capacity magazines. However, the bill would “grandfather” people who already own magazines that can hold more than 10 bullets, meaning they would be allowed to keep them.

The preamble to the bill cites research from the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence that found large-­capacity magazines were used in all 10 of the deadliest mass shootings in the last decade.

“Mass shootings that involve large-capacity magazines result in two to three times as many fatalities as other mass shootings,” according to the bill. “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.”

But testimony submitted by the staff for Attorney General Clare Connors warned that the grandfather clause in the bill will make it difficult or impossible to enforce. Magazines are not registered and do not have serial numbers, which means there is generally no way for law enforcement to determine when a magazine was acquired.

“Law enforcement will not be able to differentiate between grandfathered or inherited magazines and unlawfully obtained magazines, thereby hampering enforceability of the ban,” according to testimony submitted by Deputy Attorney General Amy Murakami. “This enforceability issue potentially seriously undermines the efficacy of the bill.”

Kainoa Kaku, president of the Hawaii Rifle Association, called the bill “a ridiculous thing that only targets law-abiding citizens.”

“Criminals are not going to get rid of these magazines,” he said. “There’s hundreds of thousands, is my estimate, of these magazines in Hawaii, and I myself and every single person that I know who do own these magazines are not going to give them up.”

“They have no way of proving how many magazines we own. There’s no way that (Honolulu police) would be able to even register the magazines that are currently owned,” Kaku said.

The Capitol is closed to the public because of the pandemic, and no in-person testimony is allowed, but about 140 people submitted written testimony opposing the measure.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Karl Rhoads noted that Hawaii banned large-capacity magazines for pistols years ago, and said the point of the bill is “to not have weapons around that can shoot 30 rounds without reloading.”

He acknowledged the criticism of the grandfather clause but said the bill is a step toward less gun violence. “When you start actually taking away weapons that people have now, I think that’s harder,” he said.

Rhoads and Sens. Jarrett Keohokalole (D, Kailua-­Kaneohe), Donna Mercado Kim (D, Kalihi Valley-­Moanalua-Halawa) and Mike Gabbard (D, Kapolei-­Makakilo) voted in favor of the bill, and Sen. Kurt Fevella (R, Ewa Beach-Iroquois Point) voted against it.

The Senate Judiciary Committee also gave preliminary approval to House Bill 2709, which would require that when a gun owner dies, a representative of the gun owner’s estate must contact police to ensure that the firearms are sold or transferred to a legally qualified owner or disposed of properly.

The genesis of HB 2709 was the deaths of two Honolulu police officers on Jan. 19. Officers Tiffany-­Victoria B. Enriquez and Kaulike Kalama were shot at a Diamond Head home, and police think handyman Jerry Hanel also killed himself and his landlord and started a fire that destroyed five homes.

The gun or guns used in the attacks on the police officers may have belonged to the late owner of the home where Hanel rented a room, but police say they have no record of a legally registered rifle owned by anyone at that address.

Kaku said new gun control bills are being pushed on the community because of the Diamond Head killings, yet his understanding from police is that Hanel used an old hunting rifle that had no magazine and was never registered in Hawaii. “A guy steals a gun, kills cops, and all of a sudden it’s our responsibility or it’s our fault,” Kaku said.

As for HB 2709, “What would this bill have done to to prevent what happened from happening? A criminal stole guns and used them in a criminal manner.”

“I definitely believe that families should be responsible and take care of guns in a responsible manner, but putting this undue burden on families that are already grieving? It just seem pointless to me,” Kaku said. “And again, it would have done nothing to prevent Diamond Head, since those firearms were unregistered.”

Rhoads disagreed, saying he believes that if HB 2709 had been law, Hanel might not have had access to a firearm, and the slayings of Enriquez and Kalama might not have happened.

“Yeah, I think that particular one had a pretty good chance of keeping that tragic incident from happening,” he said.

Rhoads, Keohokalole, Kim and Gabbard voted in favor of the bill. Fevella was absent.

Both bills now go to the full House and Senate for further consideration and voting. The large-capacity magazine ban in particular appears likely to pass because both the House and Senate approved similar drafts of the bill earlier this year.