Hawaii may be one of the most hostile places when it comes to our Second Amendment rights, and Honolulu is the epicenter of the anti-2A attitudes that are so common among the state’s political leaders.
Earlier this year the city settled a lawsuit brought by residents over the lengthy delays in processing concealed carry applications, with the plaintiffs contending that the Honolulu PD “merely switched gears from almost never issuing any concealed carry permits so that there was no one with a permit, to issuing permits so slowly that it has essentially kept the permitting system the same as it was prior to Bruen — completely discretionary.”
Now the city’s police department is back to its old anti-2A tricks; though this time the focus is on home-built firearms and “gun parts” instead of the right to carry.
HPD is especially worried about what’s known as an 80% firearm, which is made up of separate parts, often ordered online. And those separate parts aren’t considered to be weapons.
“The issue is that if they’re not operable when we recover them, we may not be able to bring charges on them because of the way the statute is written, it’s not an operable weapon,” said Lambert.
The department is asking lawmakers to make a clear ban on possession of those parts.
“It doesn’t matter where you made it, how you made it — you shouldn’t be walking around with it,” said Lambert. “Because what I believe and what we believe here is that why would you be carrying around gun parts in town?”
That’s right. The Honolulu police want to criminalize the mere possession of gun parts; essentially treating them as if they’re completed and functional firearms.
Lambert told reporters the department is pushing for state legislation that would make possession of three or more gun parts a misdemeanor, which would allow law enforcement to educate legal firearm owners who may not be aware of the ghost gun issue.
HPD also supports making possession of any one gun part by a convicted felon a Class B felony.
“If you follow the law … you’ll be unaffected by the change of the law, ” Lambert said.
That might be the dumbest statement I’ve ever seen from a member of law enforcement. It’s definitely in the Top 5. Of course, if you follow the law you’re going to be unaffected by the change in the law. The problem is that the proposed change in the law could impact every gun owner who wants to customize their firearm or build their own, which is perfectly legal under federal law.
None of the news stories quoting Lambert have included the Honolulu PD’s definition of a “gun part”, so the scope of their proposal is unclear, but based on the reporting by local media it sounds like merely possessing aftermarket sights, firing pin, and a trigger would be cause for arrest and prosecution, which is utterly insane.
If Honolulu is truly experiencing a problem with criminals building guns and using them in violent crimes, the solution is simple: prosecute those violent offenders to the fullest extent of the law. Criminalizing the possession of gun parts in the name of public safety, however, is just going to punish lawful gun owners. Honolulu (and the state of Hawaii) have a long history of doing just that, and it’s time to break the cycle of abuse. The state legislature should waste no time in rejecting the police department’s demands, but with Democrats firmly in control of the statehouse, this terrible idea could soon become an absolutely awful law… and the latest subject of litigation by gun owners in Hawaii who are trying to claw back their Second Amendment rights.
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