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JUSTIFICATION SHEET <br />PROPOSER: Hawaii State Association of Counties <br />TITLE: RELATING TO TLI.E PENAL., CODE <br />PURPOSE: To increase the penalty for use of a replica gun in a robbery or a <br />terroristic threatening case to a felony. <br />MEANS: Amend sections 707 -700 and 708 -800, Hawaii Revised Statutes, <br />by adding a new definition; amend section 707 -716, HRS, by <br />amending subsection (1); amend section 708 -840, HRS, by <br />amending subsection (1). <br />JUSTIFICATION: federal law requires that replica guns have orange tips on their <br />barrels, but the tips are often removed by their owners, making <br />them difficult to distinguish from real firearms. Replica guns are <br />often manufactured to look tike shotguns, assault rifles, and semi- <br />automatic pistols and are sometimes used in the commission of <br />crimes, including robberies and terroristic threatening cases. <br />When replica guns are used in serious offenses victims and <br />witnesses often believe the gw)s are real and are justifiably <br />terrorized when threatened with such a firearm. Because of this, <br />making the penalty for using replica gtms identical to instances <br />where a real firearm was used in the commission of these crimes is <br />warranted. <br />OCS/083010/10:37/CT <br />