In Surprise Twist, Hawaii Lawmakers Reject Semi-Auto Ban

Hawaii is a state that loves gun control. It’s long seemed like there was no measure they wouldn’t willingly embrace. It was always going to be a battleground, but any pro-gun victories would need to come from federal court, and likely at the Supreme Court level since the Ninth Circus isn’t exactly known for its pro-gun disposition, as a whole.

When they started working on an assault weapon ban with magazine restrictions and the like, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that it would pass. 

Yeah, the timing was short, but it’s Hawaii. Surely they’d get it done.

Except, I was oh-so-very wrong.

State senators from country and neighbor island districts rose up to kill an effort to ban assault rifles Wednesday at the Capitol.

It was the only major debate as lawmakers approved hundreds of bills with little discussion.

Supporters of what they called an assault-weapons ban said the limit of a 10-round capacity for automatic rifles would reduce the risk of heavily armed mass killers, limiting their bullets so they can be stopped by police, argued Senate Judiciary chair Karl Rhoads.

“The opportunity they have to do that is primarily when they’re reloading, and if you have a 100-round canister, you don’t have to reload very often,” he said.

But supported by a gallery full of gun-rights supporters, rural senators said the bill would disarm people who need weapons to take on feral pigs or other invasive species and harm hunters who have had larger magazines for years.

Sen. Joy Buenaventura from Puna said she was a longtime supporter of gun control, but many people she knew own guns or magazine that would be banned.

“But we are actually making them criminals by possession of magazines that we had legalized before they bought it. Now, by their mere possession, because we decide to pass this bill, we decide to label them as criminals and that to me, it’s unethical and should not be tolerated by this body,” she said.

“The bill in its original condition will not only restrict law-abiding citizens who legally carry, but this also restricts our law enforcement officers,” Waianae Sen. Samantha DeCorte said.

There was a proposed amendment that would grandfather in magazines already in possession and another that would exempt military, law enforcement, and some hunters from the ban.

It wasn’t enough, though.

The bill was a terrible bill, but I’m legitimately shocked that anti-gun lawmakers crossed the line to vote against the measure. That’s not how this usually goes, but it’s nice to see some of them have a line in the sand.

I won’t hold my breath about the next time a bill like this comes up, and it will come up, but I’ll take the unexpected win.

It might also present a framework that we can study and exploit in other anti-gun states to defeat similar measures. After all, we know precisely what’s coming in many of those states, especially after what Colorado just passed. Let’s get ready and do the same in places like California, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Washington, and elsewhere.

Our rights deserve it.