Okay, I was not sure what section to post this, please move if need be.  I searched various threads about what I'm about to ask.  I could not find an appropriate thread to piggy back my question.  So here it goes;

So I am prepping my lower to weld the magazine in place to register as a pistol.  Once done, I will follow up with assembling the upper and check back with the firearms registration if need be.  I have read a lot about "constructive possession" in various threads.  I have other AR rifles as well.  Would it be legal to have extra complete uppers with short barrels and short barrels in the same safe as my AR rifles?

To the best of my knowledge, Hawaii doesn't have constructive possession laws. California does, which is where most people hear about prosecutions for such issues.

I'm surprised I only got 1 reply.  Anyone else have any input?

Constructive possession laws are federal laws, IIRC. Like my sig says, I am not a lawyer, but I wouldn't see any problem having extra pistol barrels and pistol uppers for your pistol lower.

Off topic: is the lower already registered as a pistol?

Off topic: is the lower already registered as a pistol?

Not yet.  I'm still in the fabrication stage.

When you acquired your stripped lower, did you go through the two week waiting period like a handgun?

When you acquired your stripped lower, did you go through the two week waiting period like a handgun?

No, it is still currently registered as a rifle.  But I will be following the other thread on this site of how to go about registering it as a lower after all the mods needed to be legal in this state.

HPD will not let you register your lower as a pistol lower if you acquired it with a long gun permit. I tried to get a letter from the BATFE to state that it is legal to do so but the letter seemed to lean more in favor of HPD's position. You should check with HPD before you proceed any further. The lowers that I registered as pistol lowers were acquired with the same process as purchasing a handgun. I got the paper work from the gun shop (serial numbers, make, model and caliber), took them to HPD and applied for handgun permits, waited two weeks, picked up the permits at HPD, picked up the lowers from the gun shop and returned to HPD to register. They are now requiring that the magazine be welded to the lower between picking them up from the gun shop and registering at HPD.

No, it is still currently registered as a rifle.  But I will be following the other thread on this site of how to go about registering it as a lower after all the mods needed to be legal in this state.

Nope the frame must be registered same as a pistol. So 2 week waiting period.

"They are now requiring that the magazine be welded to the lower between picking them up from the gun shop and registering at HPD"

Only if its a semiautomatic , Remember both (a semiautomatic that accepts a magazine) are required to fulfill the assault weapon,

a bolt action pistol which accepts a magazine is LAWFUL!

Given that it is a bolt action, and not a semi-automatic, it really more accurately a NON-BAN AR-15 pistol as bolt action pistols were never banned and can accept a detachable magazine!

     "Assault pistol" means a semiautomatic pistol which accepts a detachable magazine

 

Also, if the barrel is over 16" than neither the semiautomatic nor detachable magazine applies


but does not include a firearm with a barrel sixteen or more inches in length,.

Only if its a semiautomatic , Remember both (a semiautomatic that accepts a magazine) are required to fulfill the assault weapon,
a bolt action pistol which accepts a magazine is LAWFUL!

Building an AR pistol that  accepts a detachable magazine would give HPD a reason to enforce the ban on all AR magazines with greater than ten round capacity.

Building an AR pistol that  accepts a detachable magazine would give HPD a reason to enforce the ban on all AR magazines with greater than ten round capacity.

Concur.

many AR pistols with detachable magazines are already registered by ,yours truly  ,  and others since and prior to 1994.

What we need to is have the law tweaked to remove the "and capable of" from the magazine limit law. Much easier to get that through our legislature than a full mag capacity limit repeal.

Of course, if I was a lawyer (and I'm not) I would argue that the law as written is unconstitutionally vague, for both the capacity limitation and Hawaii's definition of a pistol.

HPD will not let you register your lower as a pistol lower if you acquired it with a long gun permit. I tried to get a letter from the BATFE to state that it is legal to do so but the letter seemed to lean more in favor of HPD's position. You should check with HPD before you proceed any further. The lowers that I registered as pistol lowers were acquired with the same process as purchasing a handgun. I got the paper work from the gun shop (serial numbers, make, model and caliber), took them to HPD and applied for handgun permits, waited two weeks, picked up the permits at HPD, picked up the lowers from the gun shop and returned to HPD to register. They are now requiring that the magazine be welded to the lower between picking them up from the gun shop and registering at HPD.

Okay, not really a big deal.  I was planning on buying a few more stripped lowers at the end of this month with all the sales that will be going on anyway.  So, one has 5 days to finish Hawaii legal pistol mods(weld mag) prior to registering.  I will be sure to have all of the aluminum plates made and ready for welding prior to purchasing that particular lower.

I guess I need to revisit the older threads and jot down some notes.  IIRC, I seen someone posted that they started with a rifle registration, then once all these mods were done, the "rifle" on the registration was whited out on both copies and "pistol" was typed in.  I will look it up later, either during some down time at work or after work.


In any case, does anyone else have any more input on my original post, "Would it be legal to have extra complete uppers with short barrels and short barrels in the same safe as my AR rifles?".

I'm trying to do a similar build. What method are you using to do the welds?

I'm going with TIG.

I tried some MIG welding on scraps of aluminum stock.  It was ugly.

At the Federal level, once you have a legal pistol and/or receiver, you may have the parts that complete it's construction to include spares, repair parts and kits, and associated mechanisms.  The law is violated when ANY parts are in possession WITHOUT a legal means to validate the parts.

Be sure to keep this in mind as you build because I received instructions from Firearms Division that would essentially violate this.

Also keep in mind, this is at the Federal level.  The local government may still attempt to prosecute in their infinite pursuit to rid the world of law-abiding gun owners.