THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            197
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING THE KEIKI INJURY PREVENTION COALITION TO CONVENE A
    WORKING GROUP TO EVALUATE AND RECOMMEND MEASURES TO
    ENCOURAGE THE USE OF TRIGGER OR GUN LOCKS BY FIREARM
    OWNERS.



 1        WHEREAS, nationally, every ninety minutes a child is
 2   killed by a firearm; and
 3   
 4        WHEREAS, five times more frequently, a person is injured
 5   in a firearm-related incident; and
 6   
 7        WHEREAS, according to statistics from the Handgun Control,
 8   Inc., of the firearm-related deaths of children from birth to
 9   age fourteen, forty-seven per cent were homicides, thirty-two
10   per cent were accidental deaths, and nineteen per cent were
11   suicides; and
12   
13        WHEREAS, the rash of recent firearm-related deaths across
14   the nation involving children, especially in school settings,
15   is alarming and demonstrates a compelling need to improve
16   firearm safety; and
17   
18        WHEREAS, some progress has been made toward tightening
19   firearm laws to provide greater protection; and
20   
21        WHEREAS, since Florida's passage of its landmark Child
22   Access Prevention law in 1989, a number of other states have
23   enacted similar legislation, including California, Connecticut,
24   Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota,
25   Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Texas,
26   Virginia, and Wisconsin; and
27   
28        WHEREAS, in addition, Connecticut and Massachusetts, as
29   well as over two dozen counties and municipalities across the
30   country, now require trigger locks attached to firearms as a
31   means of saving lives; and
32   
33        WHEREAS, even some firearm manufacturers and distributors
34   are supporting the use of trigger or gun locks; and

 
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 1   
 2        WHEREAS, in an effort to promote responsible ownership,
 3   Magnum Research is offering free gun locks for Magnum Research
 4   firearms (one lock per gun), which may be obtained by providing
 5   the firearm's serial number and model information and the
 6   owner's name and address; and
 7   
 8        WHEREAS, the company Master Lock has announced a special
 9   partnership with firearms manufacturer Smith and Wesson to
10   produce gun locks that include motion-sensitive alarms and an
11   exclusive "TattleTale" feature that alerts an owner if anyone
12   has touched or moved the firearm; and
13   
14        WHEREAS, Project HomeSafe, sponsored by the National
15   Shooting Sports Foundation, a gun trade organization, has
16   donated approximately 25,000 gun locks for distribution to
17   firearm owners through police departments in:  Multnomah
18   County, Oregon; Oakland, California; Las Vegas, Nevada;
19   Orlando, Florida; Augusta, Georgia; and Pittsburgh,
20   Pennsylvania; and
21   
22        WHEREAS, according to Foundation spokesman Dave Bean, the
23   gun lock offer is open to all police departments in the
24   country; and
25   
26        WHEREAS, comprised of over seventy public, private, and
27   community agencies and organizations, the Keiki Injury
28   Prevention Coalition is a non-profit organization in Hawaii
29   that works to ensure children's safety through community
30   education, advocacy, and policies that protect children; now,
31   therefore,
32   
33        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
34   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2000, the House of
35   Representatives concurring, that the Department of Health's
36   Keiki Injury Prevention Coalition is requested to convene a
37   working group to evaluate and recommend measures, short of a
38   governmental mandate, to encourage the use of trigger or gun
39   locks by all firearm owners, including law enforcement
40   agencies; and
41   
42        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Keiki Injury Prevention
43   Coalition, in conducting its evaluation, is requested to
44   examine innovative measures relied upon in other jurisdictions,
45   particularly those initiatives offering free or subsidized
46   trigger or gun locks; and
47   
48        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Keiki Injury Prevention
49   Coalition is requested to include in the working group

 
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                                  S.C.R. NO.            197
                                                        
                                                        

 1   representatives from firearm dealers, organized firearm owner
 2   and hunting organizations, parent groups, emergency medical
 3   personnel, and law enforcement; and
 4   
 5        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Keiki Injury Prevention
 6   Coalition transmit a copy of its findings and recommendations
 7   to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the
 8   convening of the Regular Session of 2001; and
 9   
10        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
11   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the
12   Board of Directors of the Keiki Injury Prevention Coalition,
13   the Director of Health, the Attorney General, the police chiefs
14   of each county, the prosecutor of each county, and a
15   representative of organizations representing firearm dealers,
16   firearm owners and hunters, parent groups, and emergency
17   medical personnel.
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22                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________