“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,” Jerry Ilo—a firearm and hunting instructor for the state—told the AP. “We get the feeling that Big Brother is watching us.” (Photo: AP/Marina Riker)
A national firearms database is the anti-gun lobby’s Holy Grail. They’ll deny it, of course, but make no mistake: the end game of “common sense gun control” is a national database that allows federal officials to identify every gun owner and track every gun in the United States.
So far they’ve failed miserably. No such database exists because the American people have voted against it again and again. They understand that maintaining the integrity of the Second Amendment is a key safeguard against federal tyranny.
But anti-gunners are a tricky bunch.
The Associated Press reported yesterday that the Hawaii state legislature has passed a bill that will enter gun owners into an already-existing FBI database known as the “Rap Back.” The “Rap Back” is a database that automatically notifies police if a listed person is arrested anywhere else in the country.
It was created to store the names of people in “positions of trust,” such as school teachers and bus drivers, said Stephen Fischer of the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division.
If Hawaii’s Gov. David Ige signs the new bill, Hawaiian gun owners will be entered into the “Rap Back” whenever they purchase a gun. According to the AP report, gun owners will also pay an additional fee to cover the cost of being entered into the database.
It is, essentially, a hybridized system that combines local and federal laws to create the Holy Grail of gun control.
The most terrifying part is that the gun control lobby is already looking to introduce similar legislation in other states.
Sen. Will Espero, who introduced the bill, and the Honolulu Police Department said told the AP that “Hawaii could serve as a model for other states if it becomes the first to enact the law.” Allison Anderman, a staff attorney at the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, called the bill “groundbreaking.”
Needless to say, Hawaiian gun owners are not happy.
“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,” Jerry Ilo—a firearm and hunting instructor for the state—told the AP. “We get the feeling that Big Brother is watching us.”
“You’re curtailing that right by requiring that a name be entered into a database without doing anything wrong,” added Kenneth Lawson, a faculty member at the University of Hawaii’s William S. Richardson School of Law.
Despite these criticisms, University of California law professor David Levine believes the bill would stand up in court. He told the AP that recent Supreme Court rulings have clarified states’ ability to regulate gun sales, which allows them, it seems, to utilize a federal database in order to do so.
A spokeswoman for the governor said that the bill will undergo a legal review process before Gov. Ige decides if he will sign it into law. Taking point on that determination will be the Attorney General’s office, which supported the bill.
Hawaii is having tourism problems, I wonder why. I hope they continue to have tourism problems until the majority of Hawaiians wise up and vote the Demoncrats, progressives and liberals out of office.
This state needs to stick with what they are good at and leave guaranteed rights under OUR Constitution alone. By that I mean getting tourists to come and spend cash and growing pineapples & nuts. Oh, and let us not forget the funds our Defense Dept. spends in this ultra left wing state, the supposed birth place of the Kenyan.
I have to respectfully disagree with the authors “holy grail” analogy. The true “holy grail” would be total repeal of 2A and confiscation of all privately owned firearms. A list of “who has what” only makes it more convenient when the true holy grail is attained. Sorry to be Debby Downer. Good article though. Good Info.
I was recently reminded that the Democratic Party of Hawaii aka the government has banned adults from buying our spouses (or anyone else, for that matter) a drink at the same time we buy one for ourselves.
Either my wife has to stand in line with me so she can pick up the glass of wine, or I must make two trips through the line while she holds our seats.
The Democrats of Hawaii, birthplace of Obama the Moderate, believe that the decision to buy two glasses of wine at once is beyond the responsibility of adults. Thus, they have made that decision for us: No, you may not buy two drinks at once. That is the banality of totalitarianism in the real world.
They shall make every little decision for us, because we children must not be allowed to make the wrong decision.
This state’s culture is so antithetical to everything that America once stood for that I do not understand why it was ever allowed into the Union. Hawaii Democrats’ totalitarianism extends into every aspect of life. Two results, utterly unrelated, of course: the highest per capita rate of homelessness in America, and a median resale house price over $700,000, because Democrats understand that allowing developers to build housing is a bad thing. $700,000 buys a 1400 square foot, single wall house in a decent, not high end, neighborhood.
0bola’s not even close to a moderate.
He’s a full blown commie.
I live here in the Aloha state. We have been fighting this thing forever. Writing our reps and sens weekly. And now that it has passed people decide to pay attention?
How about the other bills getting passed here… like… getting admitted to the ER gives the chief of police the power to confiscate your firearms. Or if you have a beer you cannot be in possession of a firearm. Or if someone deems your texts/phonecalls unwanted you then are a threat and they can confiscate your firearms…
These are the four main ones we been dealing with for a while. And everyone wonders what would happen if all democrats were elected… Hawaii. Only one republican holds office in this state ONE! and there’s a huge push to get the old geezer out…
Gun violence IS very low here, but it isn’t bcuz of all the laws, it’s bcuz it’s and island and nowhere to run. Not to mention everybody here is related and there would be hell to pay…
Instead J. Edgar Hoover should be listed as one of the most dangerous criminals of the 20th century.
As beautiful and diverse as Hawaii is, Unfortunelty it is more liberal than California in most senses. California liberal rejects move to the islands and push their agendas and beliefs on the islands. And in doing so it puts a strain on Aloha.
“According to the AP report, gun owners will also pay an additional fee to cover the cost of being entered into the database.”
Wasn’t there some such court case that said you cannot charge any fee for exercising a Constitutional Right?
Imagine if an elected official proposed entering every [insert from list] into the rap back database for ‘tracking purposes’? People would go ape $hit.
List: LGBT, Jew, Muslim, Christian, Democrat, Republican, Priest, etc
When did Hawaii start competing with California for stupidity?
A long time ago. They now have a LOT of practice.
…never thought Hawaiians were that stupid.
Our system is corrupt. Our leaders would rather play the attention whoring little brother role for Cali and NY than make a decision that is based on what the people want. There’s no reason for this kind of Bill to be created here, my guess is it’s pushed down from other states with the hope that it passes here and can then be used as backing for efficiency when shown to other states. It’s bad enough already: massive ammo shortages, all firearms must be registered regardless, no “assault pistols” like ak or ar or Uzis, no mags over ten that can fit into a pistol (instant felony), yearly license required including background check… draconian to infinity and beyond