04/24/2025
🚨 URGENT: Help Stop the Rewrite of SB401 🚨
Hawaiʻi lawmakers are moving forward with SB401 HD1, a drastically expanded gun control bill that no one in the public has had a chance to testify on. This isn’t just about gun policy — it’s about fair process, public trust, and constitutional integrity.
🔍 What’s Going On?
SB401 originally proposed a ban on .50 caliber fi****ms — a short, clear bill (460 words).
On March 13, the House gutted the original bill and replaced it with language from a totally different bill (HB893), expanding it into a broad assault weapons ban.
The new version is over 2,600 words long and includes:
A ban on all semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines
New definitions like “assault rifle” and “fixed magazine”
Magazine capacity limits, transportation restrictions, new penalties
The committee report still falsely says it’s just about ".50 cal" fi****ms.
And worst of all? The public has never been allowed to testify on the new version.
⚖️ Why This Matters
This kind of "gut and replace" tactic was ruled unconstitutional by the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court in 2021 (League of Women Voters v. State).
“A bill’s content must be substantially the same throughout the legislative process in order to comply with Article III, Section 15 of the Hawai‘i Constitution.”
“The Legislature must provide fair notice and opportunity to be heard. When it substitutes a bill’s contents with new subject matter, the process restarts. The constitutional guarantee of three readings applies to the bill in its final form.”
— League of Women Voters of Honolulu, et al. v. State of Hawaiʻi (2021)
SB401 HD1 violates that rule — and sets a dangerous precedent if allowed to pass.
📣 TAKE ACTION NOW
Contact these key lawmakers and demand they stop SB401 HD1 from advancing further. Urge them to uphold transparency, constitutional process, and public input:
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
📌 Be polite. Be informed. Be firm.
The people of Hawaiʻi deserve honest lawmaking, not backdoor policy changes.