Aloha,

I looked all over the internet, including the HPD website, and could not find a straight answer to this question:

If you are for whatever reason unable to register your firearm within the 5 day limit, but still register it afterward, what happens?

According to my understanding of how this portion of the law is written:

(b)  Every person who acquires a firearm pursuant to section 134-2 shall register the firearm in the manner prescribed by this section within five days of acquisition.  The registration shall be on forms prescribed by the attorney general, which shall be uniform throughout the State, and shall include the following information:  name of the manufacturer and importer; model; type of action; caliber or gauge; serial number; and source from which receipt was obtained, including the name and address of the prior registrant.  If the firearm has no serial number, the permit number shall be entered in the space provided for the serial number, and the permit number shall be engraved upon the receiver portion of the firearm prior to registration.  All registration data that would identify the individual registering the firearm by name or address shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed to anyone, except as may be required for processing the registration or as may be required by a law enforcement agency for the lawful performance of its duties or as may be required by order of a court.

And my understanding of how this portion of the law is written:

(c)  Any person who violates section 134-2, 134-4, 134-10, 134-15, or 134-16(a) shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.  Any person who violates section 134-3(b) shall be guilty of a petty misdemeanor and the firearm shall be confiscated as contraband and disposed of, if the firearm is not registered within five days of the person receiving notice of the violation. [L 1988, c 275, pt of §2; am L 1994, c 204, §9]

It would be a misdemeanor unless you register it after being given some sort of notice of non-compliance.

My issue is that I am in the military and recently transferred a rifle from my father on to the island. Unfortunately, I became unable to register my firearm within the following week because of my duties, which prevented me from getting down to HPD in time to register all last week (though I tried; their hours suck). So what do I do?

Thanks to anyone who replies.

Give HPD firearms units a call and ask them your questions 529-3371

Don't ask them shit. Just take it in and say you would like to register it.  Additionally, never answer questions in regards to when, how it came about.

Please -- never "explain" yourself to the police. I am sorry but that is just such a horrible suggestion.

The only problem with that is the paperwork. It has the date of transfer stamped on it.

I can't do anything that would not be honest. I need to know what the legal ramifications are, and if how I understand the law is correct. If I am correct, then I just take it in and register it, and there is no legal recourse to take against me. I need to know if this is accurate.

The only problem with that is the paperwork. It has the date of transfer stamped on it.

I can't do anything that would not be honest. I need to know what the legal ramifications are, and if how I understand the law is correct. If I am correct, then I just take it in and register it, and there is no legal recourse to take against me. I need to know if this is accurate.

I would just go down there to register and ONLY if they ask,"Why so late" explain to them their limited hours and your duty hours.  The way I see it if they mandate a law like that they should provide a means for a law-abiding citizen to follow it.  Any lawyers care to chime in?

I wonder if you could bring the firearm back to the FFL dealer and have them redo the paper work or change the date. You should call the dealer you bought it from. I'm pretty sure they've gone through that before. It's funny because eveytime I go to register a firearm, I always forget to ask them that question....I've purchased firearms before and left it with the FFL dealer until I had time to take off from work to register them...

I once missed a registration date for a rifle I bought at Sports Authority.  I got a call from HPD the following morning asking if I had bought the gun, and if so, why I hadn't made it down to register.  I promised to be down the following day, and the officer said "Make sure that you are."  Obviously, I did go down the next day to register it.  There was no further hassle.

How late were you?

if anyone finds out what's the real deal on this, post your findings.

How late were you?

One day when they called me.  Two days by the time I registered.

Lol today I saw a guy carry a rifle in a t-shirt. They didn't even say anything to him.

I am past the one-two day mark. I can't get off until next monday now.

I think you need to tell work you are leaving to go to the police station. 

Notice I said *tell* them.  If your leadership won't let you off, then you go above them. No one is going to tell you to continue to violate the law and not register the weapon, they also can't tell you can't have it.
I'm not sure what base your on, to equate for travel time etc, but I left my house today at Pearl Harbor, got downtown registered and back home within a hour.  It can be hit and miss for wait times, but they can't force you to break the law to follow the law, it doesn't work that way. You must be provided ample opportunity to comply with state regulations.  If your command is not providing you that, file a grievance. I be it will be the last time they do that. However, I really doubt it would ever come to that.  I don't know what pay-grade etc you are, nor what branch / rate (mos etc). I just find it really odd that you can't get a friend to standby during work or get the time slotted to get off.  Ask for it, they say no, ask higher.

In any means, as a general rule, never answer questions to the police without first consulting an attorney it is safer that way.

Hey DIMITRIUS, do you have sick leave? You probably thought about that already, plus it's not cool to lie... Don't know how it really works but I think HPD is concerned about the physical transfer.. The whole "Firearm in your possession" type deal. +1 up on what FUNTIMES said, tell your supervisor exactly what's going on... "The Truth Shall Set You Free"...

I once missed a registration date for a rifle I bought at Sports Authority.  I got a call from HPD the following morning asking if I had bought the gun, and if so, why I hadn't made it down to register.  I promised to be down the following day, and the officer said "Make sure that you are."  Obviously, I did go down the next day to register it.  There was no further hassle.

This doesn't make sense. If HPD knows that you bought a certain rifle from someone why would you have to go down there just to show it to them etc.  They can easily mail it to you and eliminate the hassles.

Quote from: Tom_G on February 27, 2011, 10:08:02 PM

I once missed a registration date for a rifle I bought at Sports Authority.  I got a call from HPD the following morning asking if I had bought the gun, and if so, why I hadn't made it down to register.  I promised to be down the following day, and the officer said "Make sure that you are."  Obviously, I did go down the next day to register it.  There was no further hassle.

This doesn't make sense. If HPD knows that you bought a certain rifle from someone why would you have to go down there just to show it to them etc.  They can easily mail it to you and eliminate the hassles.

It makes sense if your goal is to harass the citizen and discourage ownership by keeping owners tip-toeing on a tight wire. 

If they have so much information that they know your personal contact number to reach you, no doubt the firearm's information is also on the same paper they're reading.

Quote from: ren on February 28, 2011, 10:27:14 PM

Quote from: Tom_G on February 27, 2011, 10:08:02 PM

I once missed a registration date for a rifle I bought at Sports Authority.  I got a call from HPD the following morning asking if I had bought the gun, and if so, why I hadn't made it down to register.  I promised to be down the following day, and the officer said "Make sure that you are."  Obviously, I did go down the next day to register it.  There was no further hassle.

This doesn't make sense. If HPD knows that you bought a certain rifle from someone why would you have to go down there just to show it to them etc.  They can easily mail it to you and eliminate the hassles.

It makes sense if your goal is to harass the citizen and discourage ownership by keeping owners tip-toeing on a tight wire. 

If they have so much information that they know your personal contact number to reach you, no doubt the firearm's information is also on the same paper they're reading.

Right.  Also, early in my Hawaii residency, I went to register a locally-purchased gun without taking my permit to acquire along.  After all, they kept 2 copies!  Not only would they not register the gun, they made noises about confiscating it.  They didn't, but it let me know the lay of the land.

I have a feeling HPD made their own form, and may not be exactly following state law, but we will see!
It kind of depends if the Attorney General form requires a witness, then again -- what they are witnessing if I fill out all the information anyways.

Well the police station has your personal info because you filled out the paperwork to get a background check. When you bring in a rifle from an FFL, the dealer usually (mine does) does paperwork to make sure it is legal in Hawaii and sends info to the police station.

Well, I got it registered, and they didn't say a thing.