HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-02-24 Letter to Karl Rhoads and Jarrett Keohokalole SB 2519, SD1 Relating to Firearms, SB 2635, SD1 Relating to Firearms Ammunition, SB 3054, SD1 Relating to Firearm Registration (2)
County of Hawai‘i
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County of Hawai‘i is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer.
Roy Takemoto
Managing Director
Harry Kim
Mayor
Barbara J. Kossow
Deputy Managing Director
February 24, 2020
Kenekoa/Senator Karl Rhoads, Luna Hoʻomalu/Chair
Kenekoa/Senator Jarrett Keohokalole, Hope Luna Hoʻomalu/Vice Chair
Committee on Judiciary
Dear Chair Rhoads, Vice Chair Keohokalole, and Committee Members:
RE: SB 2519, SD1 Relating to Firearms
SB 2635, SD1 Relating to Firearms Ammunition
SB 3054, SD1 Relating to Firearm Registration
The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States provides for
freedom of religion, speech, and press; and the right to peaceably assemble and to
petition the government. Yet, as fundamental and sacrosanct as those values are to
America, few if any would argue that those freedoms are not subject to reasonable
restrictions (take the cliché of “yelling ‘Fire’ in a crowded theater”).
Similarly, the Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear arms.
This right, too, must be subject to reasonable restrictions, or else we would each be
able to have our own machine gun mounted on our mantelpiece or strapped over our
shoulders.
So the question comes down to what is reasonable. That should be determined
by a free people acting through their elected representatives, in this case our State
Legislature. And given the times in which we live, and the carnage that we have
witnessed both in our own state and across the country, I thank you for taking on the
divisive but crucial task of deciding what reasonable restrictions might be.
You have three bills on today’s agenda that would impinge on the right to keep
and bear arms:
SB 2519, SD1 would prohibit large capacity magazines for all firearms. Such
magazines are already restricted for pistols, and SB 2519, SD1 might be the most
important bill before you today, given the data on mass shootings that is set forth in the
preamble of the bill.
February 24, 2020
Page 2
County of Hawai`i is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer.
SB 2635, SD1 would regulate ammunition the same way firearms are regulated
and require the licensing of sellers of ammunition. It would seem that this proposal
would be particularly valuable in the case of a firearm that is lost or stolen, but also in
tracing ammunition that is used in a crime.
S B3054, SD1 would require notification when a firearm is moved out-of-state.
This would be of some value, though perhaps limited. On the other hand, the burden on
a gun owner seems minimal.
Can any of the restrictions contained in the three bills be considered
unreasonable? I have no doubt that some will say yes, but I would argue that all of
these bills would make Hawaiʻi a safer place, without unduly restricting the right to keep
and bear arms.
Again, thank you for taking on these issues.
Respectfully Submitted,
Harry Kim
MAYOR