Just curious about the history for our state....

... when did Hawaii gun registration start?  How and who made it happen?

... what is the progression of gun laws passed in Hawaii?  When, why and who passed them?

... were guns owned prior to the registration start grandfathered by the system?

Kinda curious so I know who not to vote for next time...

Just curious about the history for our state....

... when did Hawaii gun registration start?  How and who made it happen?

... what is the progression of gun laws passed in Hawaii?  When, why and who passed them?

... were guns owned prior to the registration start grandfathered by the system?

Kinda curious so I know who not to vote for next time...

Not sure about all gun registration but I'm old enough to have bought long guns before registration was required.

 I am not a lawyer or politician.

 The first gun control laws followed an incident in 1980 or 81. A guy named Miller was released from the state mental hospital in Kaneohe. He caught a city bus to town, where he bought a .22 bolt action rifle and a brick of ammo from one of the sporting goods stores in downtown Honolulu. King, I think.  He took that stuff on another bus to Waikiki, where the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center was under construction. He went into one of the upper floors and started firing at people on the sidewalks. Hit five or six. All survived. Kalakaua Ave was shut down for much of the afternoon and evening. Police caught the guy fairly quickly, but had to clear the streets again when someone reported seeing a possible second sniper in the shopping  center. This happened on a Saturday. I was there. It was before live television, CNN and the internet, so the story did not get as much attention as it would today.

I'm not sure about the history of legislation that followed. But I do know that when I bought a rifle before the Waikiki Sniper incident, all I had to do was fill out the federal form. There was another sniping case -- in a parking garage on Waimanu Street in Kakaako a few years later and other firearms crimes over the years. I think some kind of registration law was already in effect when the Xerox murders occurred.

 At one point, I think in the 1990s, after mandatory registration was enacted, gun owners were advised to bring in the weapons they had obtained earlier and register them.  If you didn't take 'em in, the state and city have no record of 'em. The only way the authorities would know about such a weapon would be if someone informs them or they happen upon it, for example, if you took it out in public or committed a crime.


 

 
 

Why we are where we are is because gun owners at the time when all the "bad" laws were passed Did NOT CARE enough to get involved.

The guys who knew How to "touch" the right legislators passed on.

No one realized just how effective certain members of the HRA were in getting bad bills killed.

Back then when HRA called for a rally, we flooded the capitol rotunda.

HRA Picked Rey Graulty's fund raisers.  Got their attention.  He got the message.

I could go on.

I know of at least one other person on this forum who has better detailed History of What Happened.

Who the major players were and Why HRA was able to stop a lot of bad bills.

Fast forward to today.

Gun owner's are their own worst enemy.

HRA today doesn't the have the numbers to rattle elected officials cages.

HRA doesn't have the $$$ in the PAC.

THE NRA doesn't have the membership numbers in Hawaii to be More effective.

Considering the amount of guns SUPPOSED to be in our hands membership  in both organizations is Poor.

I personally know too many gun owners who don't vote and don't contribute to the HRA PAC.

The only reason We didn't get really shafted this year was because of the Grass Roots ground swell of testimony Against

the bad bills.  367 Nays vs 3 yeas in testimony.  They did the math.

They Know we Can be an effective Political Force.

We aren't because we don't have the numbers.

We don't have $$$ in the PAC.

Too many Bitch and Cry Baby and don't Vote Our Guns.

Worst of all that we let our EGOS and PERSONALITIES get in the way of Unification.

We Do Not Unite for the "cause"

Just looking at what goes on in this forum show it.

Someone asked a similar question not too long ago.

Hi Carry answered the question.  No One paid any attention.  The thread drifted of quickly.

Get INVOLVED if you want to keep your guns.

Every Vote Matters.  Be the Nail that stands up.  But do it Nicely with Class.

I am not a lawyer or politician.

 The first gun control laws followed an incident in 1980 or 81. A guy named Miller was released from the state mental hospital in Kaneohe. He caught a city bus to town, where he bought a .22 bolt action rifle and a brick of ammo from one of the sporting goods stores in downtown Honolulu. King, I think.  He took that stuff on another bus to Waikiki, where the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center was under construction. He went into one of the upper floors and started firing at people on the sidewalks. Hit five or six. All survived. Kalakaua Ave was shut down for much of the afternoon and evening. Police caught the guy fairly quickly, but had to clear the streets again when someone reported seeing a possible second sniper in the shopping  center. This happened on a Saturday. I was there. It was before live television, CNN and the internet, so the story did not get as much attention as it would today.

I'm not sure about the history of legislation that followed. But I do know that when I bought a rifle before the Waikiki Sniper incident, all I had to do was fill out the federal form. There was another sniping case -- in a parking garage on Waimanu Street in Kakaako a few years later and other firearms crimes over the years. I think some kind of registration law was already in effect when the Xerox murders occurred.

 At one point, I think in the 1990s, after mandatory registration was enacted, gun owners were advised to bring in the weapons they had obtained earlier and register them.  If you didn't take 'em in, the state and city have no record of 'em. The only way the authorities would know about such a weapon would be if someone informs them or they happen upon it, for example, if you took it out in public or committed a crime.

Thanks for posting Fang, never did hear about the waikiki sniper. I remember the hearing about the Xerox in 1999. Heavy stuff. According to wikipedia, "as a result of the shooting, a new state law was passed that requires doctors to reveal information about the mental state of potential gun owners"

Thank you guys for the brief history.  A lot of newcomers (including myself) are unaware of the history.

We really should continue to organize and assemble now so we can be an effective force the issues facing us all in this state.   

I joined both organizations and we really should avoid the HRA-this-or-NRA-that kind of talk and instead support any firearm-related groups regardless of what groups we are in.

At the moment, the shooting fair and gun shows are the best thing we have of bringing people together and having some kind of show of force.

Perhaps even a video coverage of the gun show featuring the vendors this weekend would be kinda neat.

Found a couple newspaper clippings.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19790827&id=UwEkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pGcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4708,5478680

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=19790827&id=zbMwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-PoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7044,4702356

I'm not sure about the history of legislation that followed. But I do know that when I bought a rifle before the Waikiki Sniper incident, all I had to do was fill out the federal form. There was another sniping case -- in a parking garage on Waimanu Street in Kakaako a few years later and other firearms crimes over the years. I think some kind of registration law was already in effect when the Xerox murders occurred.

 At one point, I think in the 1990s, after mandatory registration was enacted, gun owners were advised to bring in the weapons they had obtained earlier and register them.  If you didn't take 'em in, the state and city have no record of 'em. The only way the authorities would know about such a weapon would be if someone informs them or they happen upon it, for example, if you took it out in public or committed a crime.

I remember the Xerox shootings. It doesn't seem that long ago. I've got some nice firearms that I've had for years and was once told if they were here pre reg then you didn't need to reg them. I don't know if that's completely true but its how I have acted.

I remember the Xerox shootings. It doesn't seem that long ago. I've got some nice firearms that I've had for years and was once told if they were here pre reg then you didn't need to reg them. I don't know if that's completely true but its how I have acted.

I am also interested in getting a definitive answer regarding this.
What if someone brought a long gun in from out of state prior to registration?

Found a couple newspaper clippings.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19790827&id=UwEkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pGcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4708,5478680

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=19790827&id=zbMwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-PoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7044,4702356

Those articles are awesome thanks for posting

.

I am also interested in getting a definitive answer regarding this.
What if someone brought a long gun in from out of state prior to registration?

From the Hawaii Rifle Association http://www.hawaiirifleassociation.org/hawaii-gun-laws
"Owners who acquired rifles and shotguns (long guns) in state before July 1, 1994, need not register them. Spouses who otherwise meet requirements for a permit to acquire may jointly register firearms."
Mahalo, Dr. Cooper!

Not sure if this holds any relevance, but Hawaii has always been anti-gun, dating back to ancient Hawaii.

The only people allowed to have weapons were the warrior class and chief class; a classic example of a ruling class/government subjugating the people by making them unable to defend themselves. After the formation of Hawaiian kingdom, this mentality continued well after the introduction of firearms, and was promoted by foreigners, sugarcane plantation owners and the ruling class alike. When the overthrow commenced, do you think it would have been so easy had the populace been given the right to be armed? I don't. In fact, this attitude of subjugating the people was, in my opinion, the main reason why the overthrow went by without incident, as the people had no way of fighting back thanks to the policies of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

I think this is why Hawaii will always have such a hard time adopting a pro-gun attitude, because the anti-weapon mentality has been engrained in our culture for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

Disagree. Google "Hawaiian weapons" for a look at the weapons used by pre-contact Hawaiians. John Young's guns helped Kamehameha I conquer the Islands. The Wilcox Rebellion was staged by armed Hawaiians.  I think some plantations early on may have banned firearms for the indentured immigrant workers who lived in the plantation camps (maybe someone who knows firsthand can chime in.) But household firearms were commonplace in other Hawaii homes before World War II. And guns were widely used for hunting by plantation residents in more recent times.  Under martial law in World War II, aliens were ordered to turn in their firearms. Some others, including U.S. citizens, had their guns confiscated by troops who ordered them from their homes. Firearms were common after World War II, especially since a lot of Hawaii veterans brought war trophies home, just like other GIs across the nation. Americans could buy firearms througgh the mail until  the JFK assassination in 1963 led to a ban on that practice. But you could buy rifles at Sears Ala Moana and many local stores  for years afterwards without having to register them. The old Interscholastic League of Honolulu had .22-caliber rifle competition as a varsity sport into the 1970s. Byran Uyesugi, who killed seven of his Xerox coworkers in November 1999, had been a member of the Roosevelt High rifle team 25 years earlier.

I think you oversimplified what is a complex issue.