SB600 would expand Hawaii’s existing firearms prohibitions by adding .50 caliber rifles and “assault weapon attachments” to the state’s banned categories, while also broadening and modernizing the statutory definitions of assault rifles, assault shotguns, and assault pistols. The bill creates detailed feature-based and named-firearm definitions, including semiautomatic rifles and pistols with certain magazines, grips, stocks, threaded barrels, shrouds, or other listed characteristics, and it updates the assault pistol definition so that a pistol with one or more prohibited features can qualify. It also repeals the separate definition of “antique pistol or revolver” and replaces it with references to “antique firearm” under federal law.
The measure would prohibit bringing into Hawaii, selling, transferring, possessing, or acquiring .50 caliber rifles and assault weapon attachments, subject to limited exceptions. It also tightens magazine-capacity restrictions by prohibiting detachable magazines over ten rounds for pistols and over twenty rounds for other firearms, with exceptions for modified magazines that cannot readily be restored to higher capacity. The bill preserves existing exemptions for certain authorized persons and adds explicit exceptions for law enforcement and military personnel.
In practical terms, SB600 would amend several sections of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, especially sections 134-1, 134-4, 134-8, and 134-15. It would expand the state’s assault weapons ban, create new restrictions on importation and transfer, and impose criminal penalties for violations, including class C felony treatment for certain prohibited conduct and misdemeanor treatment for some magazine-capacity violations. It would also limit lawful possession of registered .50 caliber rifles to specified locations and circumstances.
The overall sentiment reflected in the bill text is strongly supportive of gun regulation and public safety. The findings emphasize Hawaii’s existing gun-safety record and frame the bill as a modernization and closing of loopholes in the current assault weapons ban. No committee transcripts or vote records were provided, so there is no recorded legislative debate or voting history to indicate broader support or opposition.
The main points of contention likely concern the breadth of the new definitions and the scope of the bans, especially the inclusion of .50 caliber rifles, named firearm models, magazine-capacity limits, and the treatment of firearm attachments and pistol braces. Potentially affected parties include firearm owners, dealers, importers, law enforcement, military personnel, and individuals who inherit or already possess registered prohibited firearms.
SB600 would substantially expand Hawaii’s firearms control statutes by adding new prohibited categories and tightening existing assault-weapon and magazine-capacity restrictions. It would amend the state’s definitions of assault rifle, assault shotgun, assault pistol, detachable magazine, fixed magazine, and .50 caliber rifle, and it would revise transfer and possession rules to bar importation and sale/transfer of .50 caliber rifles and assault weapon attachments except through authorized channels. The bill would also preserve and clarify exemptions for law enforcement, military, and other exempt categories, while maintaining criminal penalties for violations under section 134-8.
The bill’s tone and findings are strongly pro-regulation and public-safety oriented. It presents the changes as a necessary update to close gaps in Hawaii’s existing assault-weapons ban and to maintain the state’s relatively low gun-death rate. Because no committee transcripts or votes were provided, there is no documented floor or committee sentiment beyond the bill’s own stated rationale.
Likely areas of contention are the bill’s broad technical definitions and the expansion of prohibited firearms to include .50 caliber rifles, assault weapon attachments, and a wide list of named models and variants. Gun-rights advocates would likely object to the scope of the ban, the feature-based definitions, and the magazine-capacity limits, while supporters would emphasize public safety and consistency with existing state law. The bill also raises practical questions for dealers, collectors, inherited firearms, and owners of modified or feature-rich pistols and rifles, though it includes exceptions for antiques, curio/relic firearms, and certain exempt persons.