Hawaii: Red Flag Expansion set for Committee Hearing

On Tuesday, March 3^rd at 10:15 a.m., the Hawaii Senate Committee on Judiciary will hear Senate Bill 2575, a measure that would dramatically increase penalties associated with Hawaii's already unconstitutional Gun Violence Protective Orders (GVPOs), commonly known as red flag orders. Please consider submitting testimony OPPOSING SB 2575 through the Hawaii Legislative website AND use the Take Action button below to contact members of the Committee directly. For help creating an account and submitting testimony, click here.

Senate Bill 2575 elevates possession, control, or transfer of a firearm or ammunition while subject to a GVPO from a misdemeanor to a Class A felony, Hawaii's most serious felony classification, baring individuals from possessing firearms for life and establishing a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years without parole. It's important to note that persons subject to a "red flag" order have not been convicted of a crime or adjudicated mentally ill, instead the orders are based on third party accusations of qualifying conduct. 

Red flag laws have long raised serious due process concerns because they allow government to suspend a fundamental constitutional right through a civil proceeding, not a criminal conviction. SB 2575 turns a civil red flag proceeding into a direct pipeline to felony conviction, where diminished due process can mean the permanent loss of your rights and decades behind bars for merely possessing a single round of ammunition.

Your NRA will continue to monitor and actively oppose anti-Second Amendment measures, such as SB 2575, at the Capitol in Honolulu. Please stay tuned to your email inbox and www.nraila.org for additional updates throughout the session.