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-0114.,f/1441;1'• Roy Takemoto <br /> ‘,1.4. Managing Director <br /> Harry Kim mss <br /> Mayor <br /> Id <br /> ' 'µ► Barbara J.Kossow <br /> Deputy Managing Director <br /> County of Hawai'i <br /> Office of the Mayor <br /> 25 Aupuni Street,Suite 2603 • Hilo,Hawaii 96720 • (808)961-8211 • Fax(808)961-6553 <br /> KONA: 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy.,Bldg C • Kailua-Kona,Hawai'i 96740 <br /> (808)323-4444 • Fax(808)323-4440 <br /> February 4, 2020 <br /> Representative Chris Lee, Chair <br /> Representative Joy A. San Buenaventura, Vice Chair <br /> Committee on Judiciary <br /> Representative Gregg Takayama, Chair <br /> Representative Cedric Asuega Gates, Vice Chair <br /> Committee on Public Safety, Veterans, & Military Affairs <br /> Hawaii State Legislature <br /> Dear Chairs Lee and Takayama, Vice-Chairs San Buenaventura and Gates, and Committee <br /> members: <br /> RE: HB 1733 Relating to Firearms <br /> HB 2744 Relating to Gun Violence Prevention <br /> HB 2631 Relating to Mental Health <br /> HB 1615 Relating to Firearms <br /> HB 2736 Relating to Firearms Ammunition <br /> The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States provides for freedom of <br /> religion, speech, and press; and the right to peaceably assemble and to petition the <br /> government. Yet, as fundamental and sacrosanct as those values are to America, few if any <br /> would argue that those freedoms are not subject to reasonable restrictions (take the cliché of <br /> "yelling `Fire' in a crowded theater"). <br /> Similarly, the Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear arms. This <br /> right, too, must be subject to reasonable restrictions, or else we would each be able to have our <br /> own machine gun mounted on our mantelpiece or strapped over our shoulders. <br /> So the question comes down to what is reasonable. That should be determined by a <br /> free people acting through their elected representatives, in this case our State Legislature. And <br /> given the times in which we live, and the carnage that we have witnessed both in our own state <br /> and across the country, I thank you for taking on the divisive but crucial task of deciding what <br /> reasonable restrictions might be. <br /> You have before you today four bills that impact the right to keep and bear arms: <br /> HB 1733 would prohibit the assembly of a gun that would not have a serial number(a <br /> "ghost gun") and mandate a serial number for firearms brought into Hawaii that do not already <br /> have one. <br /> County of Hawai'i is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer. <br />