Hawaii became the first state this week that will enter gun owners into an FBI database, when Gov. David Ige signed a bill to do so Thursday.
Under that law, police will be notified if a Hawaii resident is arrested elsewhere in the country. Hawaii police will then be able to evaluate whether the gun owner can continue to possess and own weapons.
“This is about our community’s safety and responsible gun ownership,” Ige said in a statement. “This bill has undergone a rigorous legal review process by our attorney general’s office and we have determined that it is our responsibility to approve this measure for the sake of our children and families.”
Ige also signed two other bills into law. One disqualifies someone convicted of stalking or sexual assault from owning or possessing gun. The other mandates that police can seize the guns of someone who has been diagnosed with a notable behavioral, emotional or mental disorder.
Data from the Violence Policy Center shows that Hawaii, with a population of around 1.5 million, has the lowest gun death rate of any U.S. state. It also already has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation.
The National Rife Association and the Hawaii Rifle Association had been calling on members to oppose both the registration and stalking/sexual assault legislation for months.
“The exercise of an individual’s Second Amendment rights is not inherently suspicious and should not require a person to surrender other civil liberties, including unwarranted invasions of privacy or unequal treatment under the law,” the Institute for Legislative Action, the lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association, wrote in an online call to action. “The lawful acquisition, possession, carrying, or use of a firearm does not justify subjecting citizens to ongoing monitoring.”
