Hawaii's law awaiting the governor's signature to enroll law-abiding citizens wanting to exercise a Constitutionally-guaranteed right in the above "Rap Back" database made the Associated Press news feed today (Over 750 comments at the moment, and in just scanning the first 100 or so it appears that the readers/posters are virtually 100% in agreement that Hawaii's new law sucks big time. Lucky we live Hawaii!):
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/057945d6be7a4fb89d68bbf7d8b48bd8/hawaii-could-be-first-put-gun-owners-federal-databaseHawaii could be first to put gun owners in federal databaseExcerpt:
HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii could become the first state in the United States to enter gun owners into an FBI database that will automatically notify police if an island resident is arrested anywhere else in the country.
Most people entered in the "Rap Back" database elsewhere in the U.S. are those in "positions of trust," such as school teachers and bus drivers, said Stephen Fischer of the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division. Hawaii could be the first state to add gun owners.
"I don't like the idea of us being entered into a database. It basically tells us that they know where the guns are, they can go grab them" said Jerry Ilo, a firearm and hunting instructor for the state. "We get the feeling that Big Brother is watching us."
Supporters say the law would make Hawaii a leader in safe gun laws. Allison Anderman, a staff attorney at the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said the bill was "groundbreaking," and that she hadn't heard of other states introducing similar measures.
Sen. Will Espero, who introduced the bill, and the Honolulu Police Department said Hawaii could serve as a model for other states if it becomes the first to enact the law.
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And I wasn't aware of this tidbit:
"We were only discovering things by accident," said
Honolulu Police Department Maj. Richard ["Get a big dog"] Robinson, who helped draft the bill. "They happen to come register another firearm, we run another background check, and then we find out they're a prohibited person."