Senate Standing Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs

Good afternoon, everyone. Today is Wednesday, February 12, 2025 and we are in Conference Room 225 and we're going to take our deferred agenda first. Which we just only had one item. This is the 301 agenda. This was previously considered between joint committees. No public testimony will be taken on this measure. This is relating to SB 547 relating to water conservation.

This was a triple joint referral with the Committee on Agriculture, Energy and Environment, Committee on Public Safety and Military affairs, and Committee on Economic Development and Tourism. Those other two committees have already deliberated on their decision making. So we are going to make a recommendation and take a vote.

So Chair is going to recommend that we accept Dole Taxes amendments, Department of Taxation amendments. We also accept the Department of Health amendments. And then we also pass and we also add a defective date of July 1, 2050. Any discussion on the recommendation, Members? If not, 547. Okay. If not, Chair votes aye. Vice Chair for the vote.

[ROLL CALL]

Thank you so much. We will adjourn our 301 agenda.

Great afternoon, everyone. Today is February 12, 2025. We are in Conference Room 225. This is the Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs. This is our 3pm agenda. This hearing is also being streamed on the Hawaii State Senate's YouTube channel.

And just a few housekeeping announcements in the unlikely case of technical failures, this meeting will reconvene here in Conference Room 225 later today. For all testifiers, including those on Zoom, we ask that you stand on your written testimony. If your oral testimony is different from your written testimony, the time limit for each testifier is one minute.

For those that have submitted testimony, we do have your written testimony. And we also, I note that those that have signed up, if you can just also, we ask that you stand on your on your written comments. But if you'd like to speak, we certainly welcome that. But your time limit is one minute.

The content, including the hearing notice, copies of the bills, and testimony, can be found on the legislature's website. And if time permits, decision making will occur after we hear from those offering testimonies. I just also want to mention that the committee did take in testimony. We did post this last week. We processed a number of testimonies.

And so for those in the audience and the general public and those here today, I'll just mention that there's a total of over 1,560 testimony that was submitted for this hearing. So I do appreciate everyone's engagement in this process. So with that, we'll start off on our first measure, which is SB 1030. This is relating to elections.

This specifies that the practice of election fraud intimidation includes carrying any firearm or weapon at or near a voter service center, place of deposit or polling place. First up on our list testifying for Brady Hawaii, Deborah Neiman.

I stand by my comments.

In support? In support, thank you, Deborah. Jamie Detwiler on Zoom in opposition.

Chairs, Vice Chairs, thank you very much for this opportunity to testify. We are in strong opposition, Hawaii Republican Women are in strong opposition to SB 1030. It duplicates already existing sensitive places law and at the same time unlawfully re-extends it to certain public places that have been successfully challenged in court.

Ballot drop boxes are in public parks. This was adjudicated in August 2023 in Wolford versus Lopez. So again, it's a duplication. Also, any infringement on our second amendment rights is an offense to our constitutional rights. Thank you for this opportunity to testify.

Thank you. Michael Rice on Zoom in opposition.

Not present on Zoom, Chair.

Thank you. Alice Abelanita in opposition, in person. Yes, please come forward.

You have to come forward. Yeah. So we can hear you. You can have a seat. Yeah, and if you can stay your name into the microphone, please.

My name is Alice Abelanita. I'm a resident of Hawaii for a long time. I'm a pro second amendment supporter and I am opposed to this bill because it is more infringement on our constitutional rights. Like she said, it's just, it's more of the same thing.

I don't know why the state continues to try to take away our second amendment rights. Why are we punishing law-abiding people when criminals are going to break the law anyway regardless? They don't follow the law. And so we need to have education. I believe the young people need to be educated on our guns.

So anyway, thank you.

Thank you. James Wallace in person in opposition. James? After James is Jennifer Cabiuan in opposition on Zoom.

Hi, my name is James Wallace and I oppose SB 130. This bill does not supersede the second amendment and we always say that every year, but for some reason it always comes up. I don't know why all these anti second amendment activists come here.

I don't know if the lobby is paying anybody, but I oppose it and it won't stop crime. Crime is rising. You can put all these anti-gun bills as much as you want. It's not going to bring down the crime. We should focus on the crime. You know, all crimes. They say gun crime, what about stabbing crimes?

When there's like 10 stabbings in one week or so, all these anti-gun activists, they don't even react to that. Once there's a shooting, oh, gun, gun, headline gun. What about the stabbing? What about the chemicals that are being thrown on people? So let's focus on the second amendment which you cannot infringe. Thank you.

Thank you. Jennifer on Zoom in opposition.

Hi, my name is Jennifer Cabiuan. I'm a mother educator, a healthcare professional and I also am a concealed carry weapon license holder. I also want to state my opposition to this bill. Would ask that you don't limit citizens with the right to conceal carry from casting their votes at the election drop boxes.

The drop boxes are currently parked in district parks and they're dark, unlit, unsecured and there's tons of homeless around the area. It's a very dangerous situation. These dropboxes are open until 10 o'clock at night and I would feel very unsafe going there all alone in the dark just to drop off my ballot.

So this law will not make my life safer and could potentially be a target area where criminals know that I will be unarmed. So please don't pass this bill.

Thank you. Noelle Von Winkent in opposition on Zoom.

Not present on Zoom, Chair.

Mary Healy in opposition on Zoom.

Hi, thank you for hearing my testimony. The second amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees the right--

If you can please identify yourself please, Mary.

Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Mary Healy and I'm a resident of the State of Hawaii. The second amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees the right of the people to keep and bear arms. This is essential for self defense, the protection of property and the preservation of individual liberties.

SB 1030 restricts these principles and goes against the very founding of our nation. You all swore an oath to protect and to serve and defend the constitution. This bill only will embolden criminals while penalizing lawful citizens. And I ask you all to vote no.

Furthermore, the drop boxes are in unsecure locations and to deem this part of election fraud, this does not equate to election fraud. People need to be able to defend themselves and I--

Thank you. Your time's up.

Thank you, Mary.

--when there is no dropboxes. Thank you.

Andrew Namiki on Zoom.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair. It's nice to be back before you again. I'm in opposition to this bill. I apologize for not submitting written testimony, it wouldn't take it. The concerning thing with this bill is the Attorney General has already clarified this law in Wolford vs. The State of Hawaii.

They said that we can take firearms into government parking lots, leave them in our vehicle and go into the government building to conduct business. And that was part of sort of the settlement in that first part of it before it moved on to look at parks and other locations.

I think that before you move this bill on, we should take a conversation with the Attorney General and see how they actually feel about this because I thought this was settled already. Thank you.

Thank you. Jesse Ojeda testifying for Giffords, offering comments. Randy Pereira testifying for Hawaii State AFL-CIO in support. Michael Guluchuch Jr. in support. Rami Swami Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence in support. Mary Ann Luna in opposition. Peggy Regentine offering comments.

And then we also received a total of over 10 individuals in support and over 80 in opposition. Is there anyone else that wishes to testify on SB 1030? Yes, please come forward.

Aloha, Chair, Committee Members. Todd Yukatake. I provide comments. As far as bringing weapons near a polling center, you know, if we have a CCW license, the gun is already concealed, no one's going to see it.

If you present it openly and, you know, show it to everyone, there's other laws that cover stuff like that as far as like terroristic, threatening, other stuff. So I don't think this law is needed.

Also, if I'm concealed carrying in my car and I want to drop off my ballot, this law would prohibit me from doing so. You know, I can't just drive in, drop it off.

I guess I'd be violating this law even if I was in my car. And please consider the distance. It doesn't say a distance, but if you make it like a thousand feet or a half mile, that's a big area, you know, surrounding a lot of different stores or other parts of the park I may use.

So those are comments I provide. Thank you for your time.

Thank you. Is there anyone else that wishes to testify in SB 1030? If not, Members, questions? We'll move on to our next bill which is SB 308. This is relating to firearms.

This expands the ban on pistols with a detachable magazine with over a 10 round capacity to any firearm with a detachable magazine with over a 10 round capacity. First up on our list, Director Mike Lambert.

Thank you, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. The DLE stands in strong support. This bill would allow consistency with the pistol ban and it would be much easier for us to explain what the capacity limits are. I'll be available for questions.

Thank you. Erica Yamauchi.

Good afternoon. Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. I'm Erica Yamauchi. I'm from the Kaimuki area and I serve currently as co-lead of Moms Demand Action Hawaii Chapter. We have local groups on three different islands and more than 2,000 supporters throughout the islands.

I also have two kids in our public schools and I teach part-time at University of Hawaii. And so these issues are very near and dear to me and my heart and my family's safety. We are standing in strong support of this bill to prohibit high capacity magazines.

And to me this is just an example of common sense legislation that closes a critical loophole in our in our current statute. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

Thank you. Ellen Carson testifying for Church of the Crossroads on Zoom in support.

Not present on Zoom, Chair.

Rachel Logan testifying for Moms Demand Action Hawaii Chapter in support.

Aloha. My name is Rachel Logan. I'm the Volunteer Events Lead for the Moms Demand Action Hawaii Chapter. I submitted the incorrect testimony. Sorry about that.

But where I stand on this issue is when shooters use a high capacity magazine, nearly five times as many people are shot, two times as many people are killed, and nearly 10 times as many people are injured. We'd like to see this loophole closed and I think it's an important one to keep people safe across the state. Thank you.

Thank you. Deborah Neiman testifying for Brady Hawaii in support.

Good afternoon. I stand by my written remarks and I just would like to point out that these high capacity magazines create weapons of war which are not needed on the streets of Hawaii. Thank you.

Deborah, if you can just say your first and last name.

Deborah Neiman.

I'm sorry for mispronouncing your last name.

That's okay.

Thank you. I'll make sure I'll get that right. Sarah Sumadi.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair and Members of the Committee. My name is Sarah Sumadi and I'm the Director of Government Affairs for Everytown for Gun Safety, which is the nation's largest gun violence prevention organization with 11 million supporters across the country.

And I'm here in support of SB 308 which would explicitly prohibit all high capacity magazines that work with any kind of firearm, be it pistol, rifle or shotgun. These magazines typically hold more than 10 rounds and are capable of enabling a shooter to fire many bullets without pausing to reload.

The state already acknowledges that giving shooters the ability to unload dozens of rounds in seconds is a grave danger because it already prohibits high capacity magazines that work with a pistol. So this bill brings helpful clarity and uniformity to the magazine rules that Hawaii has embraced. There's also strong public support for this policy.

In a 2024 survey of registered voters across Oahu and the neighbor islands, 80% supported banning high capacity magazines, including 65% of gun owners. Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you. Jerry Yuen. After Jerry Yuen is Jay Franzoni in support.

Aloha. My name is Jerry Yuen. I'm President of the Puuloa Rifle and Pistol Club. I'm also a head coach for Air Rifle at Sacred Hearts Academy. I'm a disabled veteran, over 30 years of service with both the Marines and Army National Guard, deployed twice with Army National Guard. I strongly oppose this bill.

Right off the bat, if you pass this, thousands, thousands of law-abiding citizens instantly become criminals. I'm looking at over 100,000 magazines that are standard capacity, meaning were manufactured originally for that rifle. Over 10 rounds every AR15, every AK variant, Ruger 1022s, it goes on and on. Many military-looking rifles, not actual assault rifles, military-looking.

So it's a misnomer that there is something called a high capacity mag--

Thank you Mr. Yuen. J. Franzoni.

Thank you Chair, Members of the Committee. My name is Jay Franzone. I study violence at Johns Hopkins University but live here in Hawaii. My fiance is applying to Jabs in the cycle and is born and raised in Kauai with the hopes of going back to Kauai to serve his community.

We both deeply care about the safety and well being of others and making sure that our community is safe. We know and data tells us that mass shootings that involve high capacity magazines or that have those 10 rounds or higher result in six times as many people shot compared to incidents without.

And again, when more bullets are fired, it's really clear that more people die, more people are hurt. Mass shootings are rare here, but a single incident would be devastating and I hope we don't come back trying to pass a law like this if that were to happen.

This bill would ensure our laws are aligned and keep our community safe. Thank you.

Thank you. John Abbott. After John Abbott is David P. Olivado Jr.

Hello, Chair, Committee Members. My name is Jon Abbott. I am the chief plaintiff in Abbott v. Connors which is going to overturn the 10 round pistol mag ban. If you do pass this bill, we will add this new law to the lawsuit and it will be overturned.

There are over hundreds of thousands of these magazines currently in Hawaii. That definitely meets the Bruen decisions metric of in common use. Thank you.

Thank you. David P. Olivado Jr. followed by Jason Wolford. Are any of these individuals here? Both in opposition. James Wallace. After James Wallace is Todd Yokutake. Both in opposition.

Hello again, Chairman. I'm just gonna have some comments. James Wallace. I'm against SB 308, the high capacity. It's because how is it going to bring down crime? Like this is another question. How are you guys going to confiscate everybody who has it? Like what they said, there's thousands on this island, right. How are you going to confiscate that?

And it's only going to give the criminals advantage too. Say for instance, if I'm a criminal and you're a house person-- you're a housekeeper, I'd break into your house. I'm going to carry my 30 round magazine. And you only can carry 10, right? That's a disadvantage for you. Turn it around. That's what I'm saying.

This bill is going to give advantage to the criminals. They can carry 30 rounds, 50 rounds. They're going to come in the house and say, ah, you only can have 10, right. So I'm opposed to 308. Thank you.

Todd Yukutake followed by Jennifer Kabuon.

Aloha. I'm Todd Yukutake. I oppose this bill per the Bruen decision, you know, reaffirming second amendment rights to see if a law is constitutional, it has to look at the history back to the founding of this nation. Back at the founding, you know, we had the war of independence.

We had the militia, unorganized militia that had to use their own weapons in the war. And that's, you know, probably one of the main reasons for having a second amendment is because of that. And that carries over to, you know, rifles that we have today.

I mean a lot of people say, you know, Second Amendment only carry, you know, covers muskets. But you know, if that was true, First Amendment wouldn't cover the Internet, right? So Second Amendment was made, you know, back in history to cover things like that even to this day. Mahalo. I oppose this bill.

Jennifer Cabiuan on Zoom in opposition.

Hi, this is Jennifer Cabiuan. I strongly oppose this bill because it banned the standard equipment sold by the manufacturer. I was looking at a firearm last night and the standard magazine holds 21 rounds. So this would limit my ability to purchase many type of competition and self defense style firearms.

This bill will also create an unnecessary law that does not make me feel safer but less safe. Take into consideration what if I'm in a situation where I need to defend myself against multiple people, maybe a gang, maybe a people want to mob me and rape me, whatever.

I would prefer to have a higher capacity magazine in order to escape with my life. I currently have a taser but it only has one shot. So if there are multiple attackers, what am I going to do? I'd rather have a firearm for self defense with a higher capacity magazine.

Thank you. Tasman Roy followed by Andrew Namiki Roberts. You can identify yourself and you have a minute.

Yes. Tasman Roy in opposition. One, I just want to point out here that in the purpose of the bill it says to expand the ban on pistols with detachable magazines. So whoever wrote that should probably clarify.

The other thing I would say is for Mr. Rhoads, you continue to introduce bills like this and every time we tell you these bills infringe on the second amendment and I understand we're not here to ask questions, but I would like you to clarify how a bill such as this that bans the use of arms doesn't infringe on the individual's right to keep and bear arms.

That's all I had to say on this one.

Okay, thank you. Andrew Namaki Roberts on Zoom in opposition.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair. My name is Andrew Namiki Roberts. I am in opposition to this bill. Looking at the testimony today, there's over 500 pages, more than 400 of those pages are in opposition to this bill. I have two magazines here. One is a 30 round magazine and the other is a 10 round magazine. How do you tell the difference?

How is law enforcement able to enforce this law? I own over 300 of these magazines. What's going to happen when this law is passed? You know I am a law-abiding person. I do not commit crimes.

You know, if you make a law saying felons can't own guns, can't own magazines, but yet they still run around with them, it's going to have no ongoing effect.

Additionally, when we're looking at mass shootings, California has a 10 round magazine ban on rifles and pistols but yet they have almost double the amount of shootings than every other state. The sort of misnomer that these this law will stop mass shootings or make less people get shot in them, it's a fallacy.

There's no study that actually shows that. It only looks at the aftermath. Thank you.

Thank you. Michael Rice, in opposition on Zoom.

Not present on Zoom, Chair.

Thank you. Marvin Pasquale, in opposition on Zoom.

Also not present on Zoom, Chair.

Mary Healy, in opposition.

Hi. Thank you for hearing my testimony. I'm in opposition to this bill because it infringes on the Second Amendment. Behind every blade of grass in the United States, there's a firearm and that has intrinsically protected this country. And I think that it's wrong to infringe on collectors and competition and individual's right to own any magazine.

I understand that school shootings and shootings in general are concerned to many people in the public, but law-abiding citizens aren't the people to come after. It's the individual who needs therapy and guidance and counseling. And, you know, guns don't kill people. Ammunition don't kill people. Those individuals are the killers of these people.

And I have compassion for everyone here who came and spoke about mass shootings. But Hawaii has had never had a mass shooting that involves these capacities. So for that reason, I stand in opposition. I hope all of you understand that having guns in our country protect us. Thank you.

Thank you. Noella Von Wigan, in opposition

Not present on Zoom, Chair.

Okay, thank you. And then the following folks. Kelden Waljan from the Prosecuting Attorney's Office, from the Hawaii County Office offering comments. Christopher Thomas, testifying for Giffords' Gun Owners for Safety in support. Augustin Cabrera testifying for Giffords in support.

Rami Swami, testifying for Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence in support. Amy Agbayani, testifying for Hawaii Friends of Civil Rights in support. Eric Akiyama, in opposition for the Hawaii Rifle Association. Mary Ann Luna, President/Founder for SDM training group Bows and Bullets in opposition. Abra Green for the Libertarian Party of Hawaii in opposition.

Del Hayama for Young Guns in opposition. Glennon Gingol, board member for the Hawaii Rifle Association in opposition. And we received a total of over 40 in support and over 400 opposition. That completes our list of registered testifiers. Anyone else that wishes to testify in SB 308? Yes, please come forward.

Thank you, Chairman. My name is Gina Whitten. I live in Kaka'ako. I've lived on the North Shore for over 20 years, and I've seen an increase in the presence of guns in the North Shore in particular and in Hawaii. I've also lived in Colorado.

I have friends who lost children at a mass shooting at the Aurora Theater. I'm well aware of Columbine and other mass shootings. I've also lived in Texas where we've had the shooting in El Paso and Uvalde. And I've seen the trauma mentally of the community who is aware of these things.

In Colorado, I have friends-- the children are afraid to go to school and the children are having nightmares because they face this. As far as Second Amendment rights to carry these guns, I do not think that overrules our right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. We have a right to live safely. When I'm in Texas, I look around public buildings.

How can I get out? Where do I hide? When I come to Hawaii, I'm relieved and I feel safe.

Thank you, Gina. And your your position is support or in opposition?

Support.

Support. Thank you. Yes, please come forward.

Hello, Chair, Vice Chair of the Committee. Chris Marvin. I stand my written testimony. I want to offer comments. I live in Nu‘uanu. I testified as an individual, but I also represent VoteVets which is the leading national progressive veteran organization.

They identified Hawaii as a state that they need to work on to improve our gun laws specifically related to high capacity magazines, assault weapons, 50 cals. I support SB 308, closing this loophole around magazines. High capacity magazines are used to kill multiple people. They're not defensive. They are used for offensive purposes. 80% of Hawaii residents support this bill.

So their testimony is-- the Testimony numbers are one account. The 2024 survey said 80% of the residents support this bill, including 65% of gun owners. And I'll just say that when Senator DeCorte and I were on PBS Insights, we talked about the violence that exists all over the state, particularly in your district.

This will just increase that violence. It'll make it worse. Hawaii has never had a mass shooting that had-- Let's keep it that way.

Anyone else that wishes to testify on SB 308? Yes, please come forward and then we'll go to Angela Melody Young after.

Hi, my name is Berta Norbon. I live in New Valley, the 9th district. I'm a mom of two in the public schools and a college counselor. Prior to moving to Hawaii, living in Asia, I had the freedom of not worrying about my children being gunned down at school.

And we're happy to be back in the US and part of the reason we relocated to Hawaii was also the gun laws. And so there's plenty of data that shows that these bans on military grade weapons increases public safety. And so I support this bill. Thank you.

Thank you. Angela?

Aloha. Angela Melody Young testifying in support of the ban to restrict access to high capacity firearms on behalf of Neighborhood Security Watch from Kapalama. I'm a safety coordinator where we activate training in the community. So the iron pipeline for guns--

The iron pipeline is a route used to smuggle firearms from states with weaker firearm laws to states with stricter firearms. For example, in 2020, 53% of crime guns recovered in New York came from the six states of the iron pipeline. And so those are illegally trafficked firearms.

And for someone who loves students, we never want to see a mass shooting at school. So I think we should be more restrictive with access to high capacity guns. And also, the Second Amendment was created and ratified in 1791--

Thank you, Angela. Your time is up.

That was a very long time ago. I think we can use words for conflict resolution. Thank you.

Thank you. Yes, standing up. And then we'll go to--

Aloha Chairs and Senators. My name is Kimmer Horson. I am opposing this bill because if we look statistically, banning weapons from any or banning whatever you guys want to ban doesn't help anything. Most of the victims are, like, women, you know, intimate partner violence and like native Hawaiian teens, like suicides.

Yeah, 67% are young youth. I think the problem is not guns. I think the problem is like, houselessness, because I studied, you know, native Hawaiian teen suicide, it's a huge problem in Hawaii, colonization, the effects of that, oppression, drug addiction, houselessness, domestic violence. Those are the issues we need to address, not guns.

So, and then taking them away from, like, native Hawaiian women who are the most kidnapped and sex trafficked, how are they going to protect themselves? How are the intimate partners, the women in these relationships going to protect themselves? So banning them from everyone is not the solution.

Yes. Is there anyone else after this person here?

My name is Alice Abelanita. I'm strongly opposed this bill. First of all, we need to educate young people. I grew up in a state where there was open carry as a child. I grew up-- I learned to shoot guns when I was 8 years old. And my father always taught us gun safety.

And I put my kids in gun safety classes. They're taught the fear and the reverence of owning a firearm, the responsibilities. We have too much fear propaganda in our media. And I worked at a school too, where we were allowed to concealed carry. And you know what?

There was no mass shootings because people knew that the teachers and the school bus drivers were carrying concealed weapons, so it acts as a deterrent. It's the opposite of what you people are saying. It will deter a mass shooting at a school knowing that the teachers and the school bus drivers are carrying.

So anyway, I strongly oppose this bill and I wish you would stop attacking the Second Amendment. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else that wishes us to find SB 308. If not Members. questions? Okay, move on to our next item, SB 401. This is relating to firearms. Includes any firearm or rifle with the capacity to fire ammunition of .50 caliber or higher, excluding antique pistols and revolvers and muzzle loaders in the list of prohibited weapons.

First up, Acting Major Carlene Lau for HPD on Zoom, or Lieutenant Robello?

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, Committee Members. My name is Ernest Robello. I'm a lieutenant with the Narcotics Vice Division of the Honolulu Police Department. I'm here on behalf of the Honolulu Police Department to stand by our written testimony. I will be available for questions if there are any. I thank you for this opportunity.

Comments in your written testimony? Yeah. Thank you.

Sarah Sumadi.

My name is Sarah Sumadi and I'm the Director of Government Affairs at Everytown for Gun Safety. Senate Bill 401 would prohibit a specific type of military grade weapon, firearms that are capable of firing .50 caliber or greater ammunition.

Such rifles were designed for military sniper use and have the capability of piercing an armored vehicle from a distance of over a mile away. We believe the state should prohibit the sale of all assault weapons in Hawaii, including military style semiautomatic rifles like the AR15 which have been used in nine out of the 10 deadliest mass shootings.

But we also support efforts to ensure that these types of exceedingly dangerous weapons covered in Senate Bill 401 are not available for civilian ownership. Thank you for your time and please support this legislation.

Thank you. Jerry Yuen, followed by Michael Rice.

Aloha, Jerry Yuen. Back here again. I strongly oppose this bill. This bill hasn't been thought out well because it also doesn't well take into account 12 gauge shotguns which are over .50 caliber. Some of them do have rifle barrels, so you can consider them a rifle.

28 gauge shotguns, many reproduction guns that aren't quite antique but are also .50 caliber or larger.

Many of modern pistols which are not made for military use, but like the Desert Eagle and 50 Action Express, the Smith & Wesson .500 Magnum, which is a very powerful hunting pistol used for larger game and some of the other older cartridges like the .577 Snyder. .50 caliber rifles have never been a problem in the State of Hawaii.

No crime has been done with it, nor I don't think it will be because a rifle in .50 caliber is over 20 pounds. On the higher end some of them--

Thank you. Michael Rice followed by John Abbott

Not present on Zoom, Chair.

Thank you. Jon Abbott followed by David P. Alvarado Jr.

Hi, Jon Abbott again. Thank you, Chair. I oppose this bill because, like, as Jerry said, there's been no crimes committed from .50 cal rifles. One thing he didn't mention was your typical .50 caliber rifle is $10,000. So you don't see a lot of hood crime done with $10,000 rifles that weigh 30 pounds.

This is a completely superfluous, unnecessary bill that criminalizes lawful civilians who have these rifles and again, they're in common use. There's way more than 50,000 of these nationwide and I would ask my Senator Carol Fukunaga to please vote no on all these bills. She does a great job. So anyway, thank you.

Thank you. David P. Alvarado Jr. followed by Jason Wolford. Jason Wolford on Zoom?

Not present on Zoom, Chair.

Thank you. James Wallace followed by Marvin Pasqual.

Hello again. Good evening. My name is James Wallace and I'm opposed to SB 41. It's like what that guy said. I mean, who has $10,000? We live in Hawaii. Nobody has extra money. $10,000 to buy a gun. That's what shoots the .50 caliber. And how much crime this year was used with a .50 caliber?

You guys know, I know there's a lot of crime with a knife. Why don't we make knife laws, you know. 50 caliber, that's a Bill, they bring it out every year. They always. It's like mud. They fly it on the wall and see what sticks. That's not gonna stick. I mean, that's just cancel that Bill. Thank you.

Thank you. Marvin Pasquale followed by Todd Yukutake.

Not present on Zoom Chair.

Thank you. Todd Yukutake followed by Roy Tasmin.

Aloha. Todd Yukutake. Opposed SB 401. I agree with all what the opposition said to it and I just want to make a couple more points. This is a firearm that would be covered by the Second Amendment. It is considered a small arm still. It's not some mythical type of rifle or firearm.

Still considered a small arm in the military. And a lot of people do use it for a lot of different purposes. I don't own a rifle. Some of my friends do. And I know they don't want it banned. And you know, if this passes, I'm just wondering, what kind of weapons can you ban next?

I oppose this Bill.

Thank you. Roy Tasman.

Aloha, Tassman, Roy, in opposition to this Bill. The gentleman from the record club said it right. I think there's a whole family of firearms that you guys don't seem to be aware that you're banning by putting a bill like this forward.

It appears to me that you guys are attempting to ban a cartridge by banning a barrel size, a diameter of barrel. And I think you guys should take some serious look at what you're doing before you introduce a bill like this. Rhoads and Wakai in general, gentlemen, I would ask you to double check this.

At least go back to the firearms1 community and find out what you're doing before you guys put a bill like this forth. Because again, I would like you guys to clarify how you can ban an entire family of firearms without infringing on the Second Amendment rights of American citizens. That's all I have. Thank you.

Thank you. Andrew Namiki Roberts on Zoom. In opposition.

Chair, Vice Chair Andrew Namiki Roberts. I am in opposition to this Bill. It's nice to see the language in the preamble changed. We're no longer talking about shooting down aircraft. That was in the last, I think, four versions of this Bill that have been introduced year after year. And we still have the same problems.

It bans a whole class of firearms. We're banning unintentional firearms. We're not just talking about 50 caliber sniper rifles, but a whole magnitude of firearms.

We also have a muzzle loader exception in there, but we still don't have the black powder or reach loaded black powder firearms that were previously added to the other versions that were introduced and taken out and never passed. This is a law that's looking for a crime or looking to prevent something that just doesn't happen.

The Federal Government sets the cutoff for sporting firearms as a 50 caliber firearm. The Federal Government only has a limit and that the limit. If you pass this, what's next? We ban 10 millimeter handguns? We ban 45 cal handguns? What's the limit? Where exactly is the limit? You guys are going to draw?

Noella Von Wine on Zoom in opposition.

Not present on Zoom, Chair.

Mary Healey, in opposition on Zoom.

Hi, thank you so much for hearing my testimony. I'd just like to say that this ban on a whole family of firearms is unacceptable. It infringes on the Second Amendment.

And not only that, but the United States is the most free, freest and most exceptional place to live on earth because the citizens of our country have the ability to protect themselves. And as a earlier testifier said about the Second Amendment earlier,

Yes, the Second Amendment was written a long time ago, but America's only going to be turning 250 years old this year. So we want to continue to keep America safe. And the number one way we can ensure that is by having our citizens have the ability to keep and bear arms.

So for that reason, I hope that all of you vote no on this Bill. And thank you for listening to my testimony and God bless.

Thank you. Director Mike Lambert. Okay. Written in support. Okay, thank you. Rami Swami, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. In support. Augustine Cabrera, testifying for Giffords in support. Abra Green, Libertarian Party of Hawaii in opposition. Mary Ann Luna, in opposition. Eric Akiyama, Hawaii Rifle Association in opposition. Dell Hayama for Young Guns in opposition.

Craig Kashiwai for Red Letter Industries in opposition. Glennon T. Gingle for the Hawaii Rifle Association as a board member in opposition. And we received five in support and over 360 in opposition. Is there anyone else that wishes to testify in SB 401? Yes, Mr. Marvin.

Thank you.

Aloha again. Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. Chris Marvin, resident of Wannu. I stand on my written testimony also offering comments both as an individual and I represent Vote Vets. I am in strong support of banning 50 cals, SB 401. Like, I don't know what military top is talking about, but I served in the army, I went to Afghanistan.

50 Cal is a big gun and I've seen what it can do to vehicles. I've seen what it can do to buildings, let alone to a human being. I'm actually kind of shocked.

I thought a lot of the opposition folks had some common sense, but the idea that we're here talking about that we might need 50 cals is honestly insane. We need to ban 50 cals, but we also need to include it in a more comprehensive loophole closure of our assault weapons ban to include military style semi automatics.

There's just no reason why these should be on Hawaii streets. They are heavy, they are expensive, they are not in common use. This should be a slam dunk. Thank you for allowing me to testify.

Thank you, Mr. Marvin. We have Jennifer Kabwan on Zoom.

Hi, this is Jennifer Kabwan. I kind of take offense to that guy addressing comments towards us. We're just testifying to the Committee so I appreciate if they withhold their negative comments towards those that are in opposition.

I oppose this Bill because the criminals will not follow this Bill if they aren't able to get this legally, they're going to get it illegally, just like the fireworks. So to create another Second Amendment, anti Second Amendment Bill is unnecessary.

And I would also like to remind the Committee that there we did have a mass shooting out in Waianae. Three women were shot.

There was a mass shooter that attacked a family party of a neighbor and tried to explode some gas barrels before coming in and killing three innocent women that were attending the party with an illegal gun. This attacker was stopped by a legal firearm holder and he protected the rest of the family gathering.

And I would just encourage you guys to just oppose this kind of bills that would just. Encourage the criminal activity.

Thank you so much. Anyone else on SB 401? Yes, Angela. And then we'll go to.

Angela Melody Young. So still in support of restricted access to firearms, as a safety coordinator from Kapalama Neighborhood Security Watch, a grassroots movement of the Honolulu Police Department. I think we should set higher standards for prohibition of firearms for restricted access because I want to live in a society where we don't have to resort to violence and war.

So I'm against hunting so naturally I'm going to be against unrestricted gun access. So we do see a correlation of illegally trafficked firearms in the iron pipeline.

States with weaker gun laws, and states who set higher standards to restrict gun access are equipped with stronger gun laws to defend against the disproportional impact of low income neighborhoods with high poverty rates. So we should crack down on gun safety.

And yet perhaps the government should also distribute funds quicker for more funding programs to help in this contemporary society where we don't have to resort to violence. And thank you.

Thank you. We'll go to Gina next, followed by Alice.

Gina Whitten from Kaka'ako. And I would like to recognize that I believe our legislatures have put considerable thought into these bills and in opposition to what I've been hearing, and I appreciate that. And to reiterate what I've said about high capacity automatic weapons, they do not belong on the streets in any state.

And we have seen in most mass shootings the gun of choice is an AR15 or a large capacity automatic weapon. There's no need for them to be carried for defense. I mean, a woman in a domestic violence situation is not going to pull out an AR15 to protect herself. That's just absurd. And on the streets as well.

So these are just guns that should not be out there. And I appreciate the work that you all have done and I hope that this Bill will be supported.

Thank you. Alice.

Thank you for letting me testify. Alice Abelanita, I would like to read you something. The Second Amendment, a well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state. The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

And I don't know what part of infringe that you people are not getting here, whoever's introducing these bills. So you know what? We have a right to bear arms. And you know what that was for? To protect against a tyrannical government. And I see tyranny coming in our government taking away our right to bear arms.

And contrary to popular belief out here, we are not, us legal gun owners are not going around shooting people up and doing mass shootings. Like she said that the people in Waianae thank God he had a gun to stop more deaths when that guy came in and shot that family up.

How do you stop a bad guy with a gun, a good guy with a gun? You know, we have to use common sense here and not take away our rights. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else on SB 401? If not, we'll move on to. Members, any questions? If not, we'll move on to our next Item, which is SB 363 relating to firearms.

This allows the carrying or possessing of firearm parts only at or between certain locations and in an enclosed container defines firearm parts, prohibited persons, establishes increases penalties for the carrying or possessing of certain firearms or firearm parts other than at or between specific locations and in an enclosed container.

First off, from the Department of Law Enforcement, Director Mike Lambert.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, members of the committee. So we stand in strong support of this bill. In light of the hearings in the house, we wanted to make recommendations to to adjust it to only cover felons and prohibited persons.

So what we recommend is on page five, amending lines 13 to 21 to remove any person violating this section by carrying or possessing three or more firearm parts shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. And it would just read any felon or prohibited person with violent in section would be guilty, so on.

And then to make it more narrow so that people that was expressed springs and other small items which was not the intent of the law would be excluded. So firearm parts would only include the barrel, the bolt, slide, frame, receiver or cylinder. And we would remove trigger, hammer, firing pin, magazine or any other part necessary for firearm.

The reason why this bill is created is that, in today's day of 3D printing, there's only certain parts that are hard to manufacture at home. And what we want to do is to make sure that those parts don't end up in the wrong hands.

So what we want to do is it's felon in possession or prohibited person and the parts which are barrel bolts, light frame that are difficult.

Thank you, Mr. Lambert. William Beto from Office of the Public Defender.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, members of the committee. My name is William Bento. I'm representing the Office of the Public Defender. We do have opposition to the bill, specifically in regards to the mandatory jail sentences for violating the law. We do feel from our own experience and for myself, I've been doing this 38 years.

There really is no deterrent effect because law abiding citizens do follow the law. And as I say in the testimony, the reason why some of these individuals, even our young people, are carrying firearms is not going to be addressed by this bill.

There are other reasons why judges already have the ability to mete out a jail sentence as a condition of probation to deter future conduct. And so they already have that authority. If this committee feels it is necessary to have mandatory jail sentence, I would ask if you would consider 364 days.

Thank you, Mr. Bento.

Rainer Ikiharo, Narco Vice, or Lieutenant Robello.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair and Committee Members. My name is Ernest Robello. I'm a lieutenant with the Narcotics Vice Division of the Honolulu Police Department. I'm here on behalf of my Major Reynard Ikehar of the Narcotics Rights Division. I'm here to testify that we are in support of this bill.

I will be available for questions that we have submitted written testimony on this bill.

Okay, thank you so much.

Thank you very much for this opportunity.

Jerry Yuen, followed by Michael Rice.

Hello, I'm Jerry Yuen. I strongly oppose this bill. This again is putting the onus on the actual object rather than the criminal itself. If you look at something like our fireworks laws, how many fireworks were set off on New Year's or before New Year's or after New Year's or after a big game?

These are illegal in the first place. It should be focused on the individual, not the object. Put these people away. The law or the bill was amended to cover felons. Why are these felons out? Were they released early? Most of them are. Prohibited persons. Put them away. It's not the parts, it's individuals. This is a bad law.

We'll do nothing other than make legal people criminals.

Thank you, Mr. Yuen. Michael Rice. On Zoom. In opposition.

Not present on Zoom, Chair.

John Abbott. In opposition, Officer John Abbott. David P. Olivado Jr.? Okay, thank you. In opposition. Yes, thank you. David P. Alvarado Jr.? In opposition, Jason Wofford. In opposition. On Zoom.

Not present on Zoom, Chair.

James Wallace followed by Tado Pataki.

Good evening again, my name is James Wallace and I'm opposed to SB 363. And this is like getting ridiculous already. So you want to ban guns? Well, let's ban magazines then. Let's ban the caliber now. You guys going into parts like that's kind of like getting carried away already. Like common sense, like getting carried away.

I mean, next thing is going to be the spring of the gun. It's going to be that the anything that little trigger of the gun. It's not the parts that kill the people, it's the people. Just put away the people. Just said, vice, we need more cops. You know, we have one cop.

The last time I heard, there's one cop in Waianae. A police station in a 12 million dollar station. Get cops, you know, get cops. If not, then we have to protect ourselves. And the SB 401. Oh, SB 360 does not supersede the Second Amendment. Thank you.

Thank you. Todd Yukutake.

Aloha. I'm Todd Yukutake. I oppose SB 363. I frequently buy firearm parts for my job, also for home. With this law, let's say I buy some parts at the gun store.

I'd have to go home to drop it off through traffic and come back into town if I had things to do in town later that day, made dinner or whatever it is. So this would be very inconveniencing for me. You know, I buy all kinds of things. Springs, screws, triggers. Actually, I just broke a trigger.

I had to buy a new one. Firing pins, etc. Also, just focus on the criminals. Just create laws enforcing things against criminals that don't affect law abiding people like me. Mahalo.

Thank you. Jennifer Cabjuan on Zoom, in opposition.

Hi, this is Jennifer Cabjuan again. I oppose this bill. The language is totally ambiguous. It doesn't specify specifically what parts. There are many parts to firearm. Sometimes I like to change the slide because it's a different color or something happens to it.

Like I had a feeding issue at one of my magazines and I had to order an extender which came in the mail. And when I'm carrying it around in my car with my magazine to take it to the shop, I'm not going to stop off at home.

I have it in my car ready to go when I need to take it to somebody to help me fix it. So batting parts is kind of ridiculous. It turns innocent citizens into criminals. I understand you are trying to prevent illegal printing and the 3D printing issue, but the criminals are able to get firearms with no problem.

They're not going to go out of their way to print it. I would suggest that we increase our HPD to focus on real criminals.

Thank you so much. Roy Tasman in opposition.

Hi there, my name is Tasman, in opposition. And for I stand on my written testimony. You've heard a lot of good points about the bill itself. I'd like to talk with Mr. Rhoads. Sorry, Mr. Rhoads, Mr. Wakai, and you, Mr. Elefante, about the language here in section one. It's.

You say it's ghost guns, which are untraceable firearms can be easily assembled with no or little training. That's just not all guns can be assembled like that. I think we'll skip that one for now for time.

The other thing that you're saying here is that currently state and county law enforcement are unable to bring charges against individual in possession of a firearm that has been deconstructed and that that is simply just not true.

The frame or the receiver is still a firearm, even if it doesn't have the functional parts to make it a firearm. Often individuals who are illegally carrying throughout the state are not merely protecting themselves, they are also committing a number of crimes. Well, no crap. People carry firearms illegally to do illegal stuff.

Thank you, Mr. Tasman.

Thank you.

Okay. Andrew Namiki Roberts on Zoom. In opposition.

Good afternoon, Chair. Vice Chair. I'm in opposition to this bill as written. I would support the changes that the Department of Law Enforcement introduced, making it so this law applies to felons and reduces the number of parts. I do have a question about the preamble.

It says that law enforcement cannot enforce gun laws against people if their firearms are disassembled. So according to that, this is my AR15. As long as I have these two parts separate, it's perfectly legal for me to carry because that's what it says. That was what was said in the House Committee by the Department of Law Enforcement.

I think that you need to ask that question of the law enforcement in the room to get clarification, because if I go with what they said and what is written in this bill, I might just go for a walk through Waikiki after this hearing. Thank you.

Thank you. Noella Von Wengon, in opposition. On Zoom.

Not present on Zoom, Chair.

Jacob Ruck, in opposition on Zoom.

Also not present on Zoom Chair.

Mary Healy.

Hi. I stand in opposition to this bill. I find it troubling that parts could be impeded and I think that it's ambiguous. As a previous testifier stated, the wording of the bill. I don't want to have any bill come through that's going to make law abiding citizens into criminals.

And we know, as we've seen, that criminals will continue to do criminal activity regardless of the law being passed. This is just going to get in. Just going to penalize law abiding citizens.

And for those reasons and for the fact that I believe that it impedes the Second Amendment, I encourage all of you to not pass this bill. And I thank you for listening to my testimony. And I hope that you'll do the right thing in this situation. The equivalent of it in my mind is limiting.

Thank you, Ms. Healy.

Mary Ann Luna, training group for bulls and bullets. In opposition. Abbra Green, Libertarian Party of Hawaii. In opposition. Craig Kashiwai, Red Letter Industries. In opposition. Dell Hayama, for Young Guns. In opposition. Glennon T. Gingell, Hawaii Rifle Association. Opposition. There are 40 people in support and over 280 in opposition. That completes our list of registered testifiers.

Anyone else on SB 363? Yes.

Yes, Aloha Chairs and Senators. My name is Kimmer Horson. I just want to talk about demographics again. We keep talking about guns, and we keep talking about the criminals or felons. Right. So in Hawaii, when we're the 50th, like, we're the best state as far as it goes. Yeah.

So the ones that are dying across the states are the blacks, Polynesians, Native Americans and Latinos by gun violence. Yeah. And like I said before, intimate partner violence. Here, the police murder more Polynesians and Native Hawaiians by excessive force than any other race. We talk about felony. Yeah. This has to stop.

So just to keep that in mind, and as she said, you know, if. If a wife doesn't want to be trained on a firearm but her husband is, that's her prerogative. That's not our prerogative. Right. She could. She has the choice. It's there, and that's what we want to protect.

It's her choice to become trained or, you know, MMA. I don't know, self defense, you know, can protect herself. That's all. That's the facts.

Thank you. Anyone else on SB 363? If not members, questions? Senator DeCorte.

Department of Law Enforcement.

Yes, Senator.

Hi. As I'm interpreting this bill, and I'm sure you're interpreting it as well too, does this 363? Does this primarily focus and target specifically on ghost guns and ghost guns alone?

It would. It would, both for stolen weapons and to limit the production of ghost guns to parts that are, I guess, improperly stored.

Okay, I just wanted to confirm that. Thank you so much, Chair. Thank you.

Any other questions for DLE Director? If not, the Chair has a question for HPD Lieutenant Robello. Thank you for your testimony. Does HPD encounter these type of weapons in investigations that you. Is there. Is basically. Is there statistics?

So when you say weapons, are we referring to ghost guns? Yes, we do. Yeah. So I. Prior to becoming a lieutenant at Vice Division, I was a major crimes detective for 15 years. I first became a detective in 2008. There was very little gun violence. It's mostly assaults, vehicles, physical fights, stabbing, sticks, bats, metal pipes.

But as I've seen through my years in the department, it's slowly escalating to gun violence. As we have recently seen over the last four or five years, gun violence has gone through the roof. And part of it is because of proliferation of these 3D printers.

And these ghost guns, these ghost guns are hard to track, they're easy to obtain, and they're very cheap to make and to sell. So they're being traded openly and freely. And I get what these people are saying about enforcement, that crooks are going to break the law.

But, you know, we have to do something to stem the tide. So I heard a gentleman earlier say that, oh, it's already illegal to bring a part like a floor receiver of a gun.

Several years ago, while I was a detective in Waikiki, there was a very high profile case where a gentleman from the mainland who was residing in Hawaii, was homeless, was despondent, took a lower portion of a handgun, brandish it, made like it was a firearm, and ran through Waikiki. People yelled, screamed. It was chaos.

When I interviewed him, he admitted that he had hoped that the police would kill him. Like cop by suicide, killed by suicide by cop. And he only had the lower portion. He was unable to get the upper portion. I was not able to charge him with any firearm offense.

The only felony offense I was able to charge him with was the fact that he assaulted one of the officers. When he was being arrested and placed in custody, he got no gun charge. So, like the thing that the gentleman said earlier, he might be misinformed.

Currently, our gun laws do not allow for us to charge just based on a part, a barrel, a load receiver or whatever. In fact, several years ago, we had to make a simulated firearm law.

Because if I had a gun like, say like an airsoft gun, and I pointed at somebody, some of these airsoft guns look really real. We like to charge under a real firearm law. But there was no language or definition of what, what a firearm was, and it was real stringent.

Then they made an amendment to this along with the simulated firearm. Then we were able to charge those. So I think what the purpose of this bill is, it's to close that loophole. These guns now in three or four pieces, in a matter of seconds, I can assemble this gun.

I can have them in the trunk of a car, I can have them in my home, I can have them under a seat. In a matter of just putting a top and bottom receiver together and racket it, I can have a fully functional firearm. And that's the.

Some of these guys are avid gun guys and they probably are really proficient at assembling and disseminating this.

I think the intent of this law was to just give us something to charge these types of people that are carrying these types of parts that can complete a gun or with the purpose of cleaning a gun, to use it to commit a crime.

And even with all laws, there is due process and there is prosecutory tool discretion. So even if this law were passed in some form, prosecutors still have the discretion to not charge it. It's like if you have a spree. I'm hearing what some of these guys are saying.

Do you really believe that even if I was to arrest this person, we were to charge this person, that the prosecutor would charge this individual just for having sprains? That's hard to believe. It's a totality of circumstances.

What this does do is gives us as law enforcement more tools to work with for the people that are not meaning or well intentioned that are in possession of these parts. It just gives us more opportunities to enforce these laws. Guns, we get it. There are a lot of guns out there.

But what we're trying to do is we're just trying to stem the tide. This ghost gun thing is just out of control. We'll set up the lab. I would say I have some statistics, so I'll just read real briefly.

I don't want to take up too much of your time with these other people's times, but regards this with the ghost guns. So the number of ghost gun related cases has risen sharply in one year with a 220% increase. From January 1 through October 14 of 2023, the HPD initiated 31 ghost gun related cases.

From January 1 through October 14, 2024 HPD also initiated 68 ghost gun related cases. So as you see, this ghost gun is a major problem for us.

And I would say this, prior to leaving as a detective to go to Narcotics Vice, the guns I encountered in the last three or four gun cases I had were all ghost guns.

In Narcotics Vice, when we do search warrants and we hit game rooms, the guns we're finding are not registered guns or legal guns that were stolen from a car or house. They're all ghost guns. And the main reason for that is the parts are traceable.

This is literally a gun that, thus the term ghost gun that somebody can use to commit crime and makes it very hard for law enforcement of any level, federal, state to identify the maker, the purchaser, the possessor, and for prosecution purposes.

So any gun law or legislation that helps us to enforce, to make gun law stricter for people that want to use guns for the wrong purpose, not hunting, not, you know, competitive shooting, just gives us one more mechanism, one more avenue to be able to enforce that law and put like everybody has said put the right people in jail.

And that's our intent, is to put the right people in jail, discourage people from using these types of weapons on innocent people.

Okay, thank you, Lieutenant. Members, any other questions for Lieutenant Robello? If not, thank you.

Thank you.

Okay. I think that completes our list of registered testifiers on SB 363. We'll now move on to our final item on our agenda, which is SB 1314. This is relating to firearms reporting.

This amends the annual reporting requirements and polls on the Department of the Attorney General and the Chief of Police of each county regarding licenses to carry firearms. First, from the Attorney General, Julie Ebato, Administrator.

Good afternoon, Chair Elefante, Committee Members. My name is Julie Ebato. I'm with the Department of the Attorney General. I'm the Administrator of the Crime Prevention Justice Assistance Division, the division tasked to complete the annual report. We submitted our testimony in strong support of this Bill. Wanted to just provide some clarification, comments.

Currently, the way the statute is crafted, we are required to complete a report by April 1st. The county police departments, the four county police departments, are required to submit their data to us by February 1st.

What we're asking in this Bill is to take off the deadline of April 1st for our Department and to give the County Police Department additional time to submit their data. With the limited resources we have, we will produce a report.

But it places a, it places a better burden on us to ensure that whatever report we do push out will be a complete report and as correct and accurate a report as possible.

Thank you, Administrator. We do have your end testimony. Thank you. Carlene Lau, Acting Major, Honolulu Police Department, on Zoom in support. Todd Yokotake, followed by James Wallace.

Aloha. Provide comments only. I would like to—this Bill to be amended to also includes stats on defensive uses of firearms against crimes. We hear a lot about the high-profile ones where shots are fired on the news and in the newspaper.

Like the Waianae—was that front loader one recently, the one about the three gang members shooting at the homeowner in Waianae, also one in Ewa Beach with a knife wielder that was shot. But you never hear about the ones where shots are not fired, where just a firearm is displayed, and it prevents a crime.

I would like those stats to be included in there, just to balance out the report. And I think that's something that a lot of us would like to know. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yokotake. James Wallace, followed by Jennifer Cabjuan on Zoom.

Hello again, my name is James Wallace and here we go again. I'll say it again. SB 1314, I'm opposed to it because it does not supersede the Second Amendment. Not only that, it infringes, it infringes on our privacy. Thank you.

Thank you. Jennifer Cabjuan, on Zoom.

Hi, this is Jennifer Cabjuan. I strongly oppose this Bill. California passed this law in 2021 and could not properly protect the data. What happened was the data was breached, and the full disclosure was made public, including personal information such as names, addresses, criminal history, etc.

I do not trust Hawaii has a proper expertise to safeguard my personal information. Wrongdoers with this information could cause serious threat or harm to my family. This serves no purpose in to keep Hawaii citizens safe. Stop wasting our tax dollars on, on setting up these types of laws.

And also, I'd like to say that I know HPD likes to try to make these laws in order to help the citizens, but they're not all—HPD are not all righteous and there are some HPD officers that have negative intentions towards people, and they could use these laws to unnecessarily subject them to being a criminal.

Thank you. Noella Von Winon, in opposition, on Zoom.

Not present on Zoom Chair.

Mary Healy in opposition, on Zoom.

Testimony. Hi, I'm so sorry. Mary Healy. I thank you so much for hearing my testimony. I stand in opposition to this Bill. I also worry about people's personal data and abuse that could occur if this Bill is passed. I also believe that—I stand with others that this is an infringement on our, our personal, our personal data.

And I just think that at the end of the day, we don't want to allow our government the ability to put us in danger. So, for those reasons, I stand in opposition to this Bill, and I thank you for hearing my testimony.

Thank you. Ramya Swami for Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, in support. Abra Green, Libertarian Party of Hawaii, in opposition. Mary Ann Luna for SDM Training Group, Bulls and Bullets, in opposition. Mary Kawasaki, in support. And we also received a total of over 90 individuals in opposition. That completes our list of registered testifiers on SB 1314.

Anyone else in the audience or on Zoom that wishes to testify? Yes, Kim.

Okay. My name is Kim Horson, Chairs and Senators. Essentially, my conclusion is that police are understaffed in Hawaii. That's the issue. There were only 25 murders in Hawaii, which I know there shouldn't be any at all, but like I said, there's suicide and there's partner violence, domestic violence. That covers those.

And what the Officer was talking about on Ghost Guns, people have the right to carry. I'm sorry, it's just the way it is. Like I said, he probably scared, and that's his job, you know. I was in the military and drove a 50-caliber machine gun truck.

And I can tell you the civilians there are not scared of the 50-cal. They will throw rocks at you, and they will try to, you know, throw you off the Humvee, right. My gunner, they're not scared of the 50. They're scared of a 9-millimeter, a 38. Once you get that 38 out, then, boom, they disappear.

So, it's not the size of the gun, it's the person behind the gun, right. So, we had the ability to take out a whole village, but we were under the Geneva Conventions, and we had certain rules, so.

Thank you.

That's, that's the issue.

Thank you. Anyone else on SB 1314? Okay. If not, members, questions? Okay, if not, I'm ready to roll into decision-making. Okay, we're going into decision-making. First up on our agenda is SB 1030. This is relating to elections. Our recommendation here is do pass with amendments on page three, line 14.

We're going to fill in the blank amount of feet with the number 200 feet. This number is the electioneering radius around election polling sites that was provided by the Office of Elections and any technical amendments. Any discussion? If not, Vice Chair? Chair votes aye.

[Roll Call]. Chair, your recommendation's adopted.

Thank you. Next up on our agenda is SB 308. This is relating to firearms. Recommendation is do pass with amendments. We're going to delete the findings and purpose section on page one, lines one to four, delete line seven on page one that states 'except' as provided in Section 134-11. We're going to change the effective date to January 1, 2026 and any technical amendments. Any discussion? If not, Vice Chair for the vote. Chair votes aye.

[Roll Call]. Chair, your recommendation is adopted.

Thank you so much. Our next item on our agenda is SB 401. This is relating to firearms. Recommendation's do pass with amendments. We're going to delete the findings and purpose clause section on page one, lines one to 12. We're going to change the effective date to January 1, 2026 and any technical amendments. Any discussion? If not, Vice Chair for the vote. Chair votes aye.

[Roll Call]. Chair, your recommendation is adopted.

Thank you. Next up is SB 363. This is relating to firearms. Recommendation here is do pass with amendments. We're going to delete the findings and purpose section on page one, line one through--page four, line 14. We're going to accept the Department of Law Enforcement's suggested amendments in their written testimony, any technical amendments, and in the committee report, we're going to include the statistics provided by the Honolulu Police Department's written testimony. Any discussion?

Comment, chair?

Yes.

I will be voting up on this only because as it sits right now, it is specifically targets ghost guns, so I will be voting in support. However, if later down the line, through the final vote, anything changes, it opens it up and broadens to other firearms, I will be voting no. So thank you.

Thank you. Okay, if not, Chair recommends we pass with amendments, SB 363. Chair votes aye.

[Roll Call]. Chair, your recommendation is adopted.

Thank you, and our last item on our agenda is SB 1314. This is relating to firearms reporting. Recommendation is do pass as is. Any discussion? If not, Vice Chair for the vote. Chair votes aye.

[Roll Call]. Chair's recommendation is adopted.

This concludes our agenda for today. We're adjourned.