REPORT TITLE:
Firearms

DESCRIPTION:
Prohibits the issuance of a firearms permit unless the applicant
shows proof that the applicant has obtained a gun lock for every
firearm acquired.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO FIREARMS.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  Section 134-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended to read as follows:
 
 3      "§134-2 Permits to acquire.(a)  No person shall acquire
 
 4 the ownership of a firearm, whether usable or unusable,
 
 5 serviceable or unserviceable, modern or antique, registered under
 
 6 prior law or by a prior owner or unregistered, either by
 
 7 purchase, gift, inheritance, bequest, or in any other manner,
 
 8 whether procured in the State or imported by mail, express,
 
 9 freight, or otherwise, until the person has first procured from
 
10 the chief of police of the county of the person's place of
 
11 business or, if there is no place of business, the person's
 
12 residence or, if there is neither place of business nor
 
13 residence, the person's place of sojourn, a permit to acquire the
 
14 ownership of a firearm as prescribed in this section.  When title
 
15 to any firearm is acquired by inheritance or bequest, the
 
16 foregoing permit shall be obtained before taking possession of a
 
17 firearm; provided that upon presentation of a copy of the death
 
18 certificate of the owner making the bequest, any heir or legatee
 
19 may transfer the inherited or bequested firearm directly to a
 

 
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 1 dealer licensed under section 134-31 or licensed by the United
 
 2 States Department of the Treasury without complying with the
 
 3 requirements of this section.
 
 4      (b)  The permit application form shall include the
 
 5 applicant's name, address, sex, height, weight, date of birth,
 
 6 place of birth, social security number, and information regarding
 
 7 the applicant's mental health history and shall require the
 
 8 fingerprinting and photographing of the applicant by the police
 
 9 department of the county of registration; provided that where
 
10 fingerprints and photograph are already on file with the
 
11 department, these may be waived.
 
12      (c)  An applicant for a permit shall sign a waiver at the
 
13 time of application, allowing the chief of police of the county
 
14 issuing the permit access to any records that have a bearing on
 
15 the mental health of the applicant.  The permit application form
 
16 and the waiver form shall be prescribed by the attorney general
 
17 and shall be uniform throughout the State.
 
18      (d)  The chief of police of the respective counties may
 
19 issue permits to acquire firearms to citizens of the United
 
20 States of the age of twenty-one years or more, or duly accredited
 
21 official representatives of foreign nations, or duly commissioned
 
22 law enforcement officers of the State who are aliens; provided
 
23 that any law enforcement officer who is the owner of a firearm
 

 
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 1 and who is an alien shall transfer ownership of the firearm
 
 2 within forty-eight hours after termination of employment from a
 
 3 law enforcement agency.  The chief of police of each county may
 
 4 issue permits to aliens of the age of eighteen years or more for
 
 5 use of rifles and shotguns for a period not exceeding sixty days,
 
 6 upon a showing that the alien has first procured a hunting
 
 7 license under chapter 183D, part II.  The chief of police of each
 
 8 county may issue permits to aliens of the age of twenty-one years
 
 9 or more for use of firearms for a period not exceeding six
 
10 months, upon a showing that the alien is in training for a
 
11 specific organized sport-shooting contest to be held within the
 
12 permit period.  The attorney general shall adopt rules, pursuant
 
13 to chapter 91, as to what constitutes sufficient evidence that an
 
14 alien is in training for a sport-shooting contest.
 
15 Notwithstanding any provision of the law to the contrary and upon
 
16 joint application, the chief of police may issue permits to
 
17 acquire firearms jointly to spouses who otherwise qualify to
 
18 obtain permits under this section.
 
19      (e)  The permit application form shall be signed by the
 
20 applicant and by the issuing authority.  One copy of the permit
 
21 shall be retained by the issuing authority as a permanent
 
22 official record.  Except for sales to dealers licensed under
 
23 section 134-31, or dealers licensed by the United States
 

 
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 1 Department of the Treasury, or law enforcement officers, or where
 
 2 a license is granted under section 134-9, or where any firearm is
 
 3 registered pursuant to section 134-3(a), no permit shall be
 
 4 issued to an applicant earlier than fourteen calendar days after
 
 5 the date of the application; provided that a permit shall be
 
 6 issued or the application denied before the twentieth day from
 
 7 the date of application.  Permits issued to acquire any pistol or
 
 8 revolver shall be void unless used within ten days after the date
 
 9 of issue.  Permits to acquire a pistol or revolver require a
 
10 separate application and permit for each transaction.  Permits
 
11 issued to acquire any rifle or shotgun shall entitle the
 
12 permittee to make subsequent purchases of rifles or shotguns for
 
13 a period of one year from the date of issue without a separate
 
14 application and permit for each acquisition, subject to the
 
15 disqualifications under section 134-7 and subject to revocation
 
16 under section 134-13; provided that if a permittee is arrested
 
17 for committing a felony or any crime of violence or for the
 
18 illegal sale of any drug, the permit shall be impounded and shall
 
19 be surrendered to the issuing authority.
 
20      (f)  In all cases where a pistol or revolver is acquired
 
21 from another person within the State, the permit shall be signed
 
22 in ink by the person to whom title to the pistol or revolver is
 
23 transferred and shall be delivered to the person who is
 

 
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 1 transferring title to the firearm, who shall verify that the
 
 2 person to whom the firearm is to be transferred is the person
 
 3 named in the permit and enter on the permit in the space provided
 
 4 the following information:  name of the person to whom the title
 
 5 to the firearm was transferred; names of the manufacturer and
 
 6 importer; model; type of action; caliber or gauge; and serial
 
 7 number as applicable.  The person who is transferring title to
 
 8 the firearm shall sign the permit in ink and cause the permit to
 
 9 be delivered or sent by registered mail to the issuing authority
 
10 within forty-eight hours after transferring the firearm.
 
11      In all cases where receipt of a firearm is had by mail,
 
12 express, freight, or otherwise from sources without the State,
 
13 the person to whom the permit has been issued shall make the
 
14 prescribed entries on the permit, sign the permit in ink, and
 
15 cause the permit to be delivered or sent by registered mail to
 
16 the issuing authority within forty-eight hours after taking
 
17 possession of the firearm.
 
18      In all cases where a rifle or shotgun is acquired from
 
19 another person within the State, the person who is transferring
 
20 title to the rifle or shotgun shall submit, within forty-eight
 
21 hours after transferring the firearm, to the authority which
 
22 issued the permit to acquire, the following information, in
 
23 writing:  name of the person who transferred the firearm, name of
 

 
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 1 the person to whom the title to the firearm was transferred;
 
 2 names of the manufacturer and importer; model; type of action;
 
 3 caliber or gauge; and serial number as applicable.
 
 4      (g)  Effective July 1, 1995, no person shall be issued a
 
 5 permit under this section for the acquisition of a pistol or
 
 6 revolver unless the person, at any time prior to the issuance of
 
 7 the permit, has completed:
 
 8      (1)  An approved hunter education course as authorized under
 
 9           section 183D-28;
 
10      (2)  A firearms safety or training course or class available
 
11           to the general public offered by a law enforcement
 
12           agency of the State or of any county;
 
13      (3)  A firearms safety or training course offered to law
 
14           enforcement officers, security guards, investigators,
 
15           deputy sheriffs, or any division or subdivision of law
 
16           enforcement or security enforcement by a state or
 
17           county law enforcement agency; or
 
18      (4)  A firearms training or safety course or class conducted
 
19           by a state certified or National Rifle Association
 
20           certified firearms instructor or a certified military
 
21           firearms instructor that provides, at a minimum, a
 
22           total of at least two hours of firing training at a
 

 
 
 
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 1           firing range and a total of at least four hours of
 
 2           classroom instruction, which may include a video, that
 
 3           focuses on:
 
 4           (A)  The safe use, handling, and storage of firearms
 
 5                and firearm safety in the home; and
 
 6           (B)  Education on the firearm laws of the State.
 
 7           An affidavit signed by the certified firearms
 
 8           instructor who conducted or taught the course,
 
 9           providing the name, address, and phone number of the
 
10           instructor and attesting to the successful completion
 
11           of the course by the applicant shall constitute
 
12           evidence of certified successful completion under this
 
13           paragraph.
 
14      (h)  No permit shall be issued unless the applicant provides
 
15 proof of purchase of a locking mechanism designed to prevent the
 
16 discharge of the firearm when locked.
 
17      [(h)] (i)   No person shall sell, give, lend, or deliver
 
18 into the possession of another any firearm except in accordance
 
19 with this chapter.
 
20      [(i)] (j)  No fee shall be charged for permits, or
 
21 applications for permits, under this section, except for a single
 
22 fee chargeable by and payable to the issuing county, for
 
23 individuals applying for their first permit, in an amount equal
 

 
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 1 to the fee actually charged by the Federal Bureau of
 
 2 Investigation to the issuing police department for a fingerprint
 
 3 check in connection with that application or permit.  In the case
 
 4 of a joint application, the fee provided for in this section may
 
 5 be charged to each person to whom no previous permit has been
 
 6 issued."
 
 7      SECTION 2.  This Act does not affect rights and duties that
 
 8 matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were
 
 9 begun, before its effective date.
 
10      SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
11 New statutory material is underscored.
 
12      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
13 
 
14                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________