Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
The Ninth Circuit made a decision on magazine capacity that floored a lot of us. While President Trump has put more pro-gun judges on the bench, the truth is that the Ninth Circuit is still in the Ninth Circuit, suggesting that it may well continue as the most anti-gun circuit in the country. However, the ruling on magazine limits was…well…not anti-gun.
Yet it seems the fight isn’t quite over when it comes to magazine capacity.
To that end, the Hawaii Firearms Coalition has filed a lawsuit to address the issue.
Yesterday evening Attorney Alan Beck on behalf of Hawaii Firearms Coalition director Jon Abbott and two other Hawaii residents (Kevin Kacatin and Soleil Roache), filled a lawsuit in the US District Court of Hawaii.
The lawsuit alleges that Hawaii’s ban on Handgun magazines with a capacity greater than ten rounds in unconstitutional. HRS 134-8(c) bans the possession of any magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds. The plaintiffs in the case have all stated that if it were not for Hawaii’s ban, they would seek to and would own magazines with a larger capacity. Currently, if they were to be found in possession and using said magazines at this time, they would be charged with a Class C felony.
The recent ruling by the 9th Circuit Court in Duncan v. Becerra supports this lawsuit. In that case, the court found that; millions of ammunition magazines able to hold more than 10 rounds are in common use by law-abiding responsible citizens for lawful uses like self-defense. As such, they are protected by the second amendment and can not be subject to a categorical ban.
Applying the same logical steps used by the 9th Circuit Court in Duncan, Hawaii’s law is likely to be found unconstitutional. In recent years Hawaii’s Firearms Coalition has asked legislators to amend Hawaii’s law to remove the capacity based ban, but legislators have been unwilling to do so. The only available course of action left is to have it removed by the courts.
Hawaii Firearms Coalition is a non-profit based in the state of Hawaii that focuses on the second amendment and the right to bear arms. For more information and membership opportunities, please visit www.hifico.org
In other words, this is a continuation of the fight that led to the Ninth Circuit’s decision, just one that specifically targets Hawaii’s law. Since the Ninth Circuit has already ruled on this, the lower courts have clear guidance on this and should rule accordingly.
Then again, this is the most anti-gun region of the country, so don’t be surprised if they ignore the Ninth Circuit’s ruling.
Regardless, this is another key step in helping so many of our brothers and sisters in Hawaii regain essential Second Amendment rights. Especially since all magazine capacity limits are arbitrary and, frankly, ridiculous. All it does is interfere with law-abiding Hawaiians’ ability to defend themselves in the most effective manner possible.
Meanwhile, the criminals routinely ignore such laws and do what they want anyway.
It’s not right and I’m glad to see the state of Hawaii about to be taken down a peg or two. The fact that this may also trigger Judge Robert Benitez to lift the stay of his own ruling is also a possibility and a big win.
Tom Knighton is a Navy veteran, a former newspaperman, a novelist, and a blogger and lifetime shooter. He lives with his family in Southwest Georgia. He's also the host of Unloaded TV on YouTube. https://bearingarms.com/author/tomknighton/
https://bearingarms.com/tom-k/2020/08/21/hi-firearms-coalition-lawsuit/