STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1058

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 401

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 401, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FIREARMS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to include any firearm with the capacity to fire ammunition of fifty caliber or higher, excluding antique pistols and revolvers, and muzzleloaders, in the list of prohibited weapons.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Law Enforcement, Giffords, League of Women Voters of Hawaii, Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America Hawaiʻi Chapter, Students Demand Action for Gun Sense in America Hawaiʻi Chapter, Vet Voice Foundation, and forty-seven individuals.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the National Rifle Association of Hawaii, Aloha Freedom Coalition, Puʻuloa Rifle and Pistol Club, Hawaii Rifle Association, SDM Training Group, Bows N Bullets, Young Guns, and numerous individuals.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Honolulu Police Department.

Your Committee finds that fifty caliber firearms are exceptionally powerful weapons that pose extraordinary risks to public safety, law enforcement personnel, and critical infrastructure. These weapons are capable of penetrating light armor, vehicles, and buildings from significant distances, making them particularly dangerous in both urban and rural environments. Their prohibition aligns with existing restrictions on other weapons that present similar levels of risk to public safety. This measure will prohibit these powerful weapons to enhance public safety in the State while maintaining reasonable accommodations for legitimate historical and collecting interests.

Your Committee notes that a fifty caliber rifle can hit a target accurately from distances of one thousand to two thousand yards, and, depending on the skill of the shooter, can reach targets at an even longer range. Your Committee further notes that fifty caliber rifles can destroy or disable light armored vehicles, radar dishes, helicopters, stationary, and taxiing airplanes. Additionally, the destructive power of the fifty caliber rifle can be magnified by the use of certain types of ammunition that are legal under federal law, including armor-piercing, incendiary, and combination armor-piercing and incendiary ammunition.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Exempting shotguns from the prohibition against firearms with the capacity to fire ammunition of fifty caliber or higher;

(2) Specifying that this measure shall not prohibit possession of a firearm that is not a shotgun with the capacity to fire ammunition of fifty caliber or higher obtained before January 1, 2026; and

(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 401, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 401, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

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KARL RHOADS, Chair