Bill to regulate air and replica guns advances | News, Sports, Jobs

Maui Police Department Lt. Grant Nakamura of the Crime Reduction Unit demonstrates how real a replica or air gun can look and also discusses the potential dangers of air rifles in front of Maui County Council members in the Council Chambers in Wailuku on Wednesday afternoon. Screenshot of Akaku

A bill that would limit air and replica guns in certain public spaces to improve safety for the community and police officers was unanimously recommended by a Maui County Council committee on Wednesday afternoon.

The purpose of the bill, proposed by the Maui Police Department, is to update regulations on air guns and incorporate regulations on replica guns, said Council Member Tamara Paltin, chairperson of the Disaster, Resilience, International Affairs and Planning Committee.

“The thing we’re trying to limit is people carrying these around parks,” said MPD Lt. Grant Nakamura of the Crime Reduction Unit, who was instrumental in drafting the measure. “Right now, any person, a fugitive or a felon, can carry one of these air rifles, .50-caliber air rifles, through the park, and there’s nothing we can do about it — it’s not a crime right now.”

However, it would be a crime starting Nov. 1 if Bill 169 passes the full council. Replica guns, Paltin pointed out, “can look a lot” like the real thing.

“I mean, you can’t even tell the difference sometimes when you’re holding it until you pop out the cartridge magazine, that’s what I heard,” Paltin said. “And, air rifles could actually kill people, too. So, a very timely bill for us for consideration by the Police Department.”

Between January 2020 and March 2021, more than 25 air guns or replica guns along with 99 illegal firearms, 24 pounds of crystal methamphetamine, two pounds of heroin and more than $350,000 have been recovered by the Crime Reduction Unit, Nakamura said.

Every case involving air or replica guns has been tied to possession and/or distribution of narcotics, and most of the individuals involved are felons.

“We want to limit that and keep it safe for everybody,” he added.

An air gun, under the proposed bill, would mean any instrument designed to expel a pellet or BB shot using compressed air or gas or through a spring or elastic action. This does not include firearms.

The bill would make it unlawful for any person to discharge an air gun from or across any street, sidewalk, alley or public land, or any public place except on an enclosed range designed and properly constructed for the use of the air gun.

The bill would also prohibit an air gun from being carried or displayed in a public place unless it’s unloaded and in an enclosed container.

It would also be unlawful for someone to discharge an air gun on any private property or residence in such a manner that a pellet or BB shot could go outside the limits of the property or endanger another property or person.

The bill wouldn’t prevent people with hunting licenses from going hunting in accordance with state law.

The Maui County Code already states that minors under the age of 18 years are not allowed to own, purchase, gift or operate air guns unless under adult supervision. It also does not allow the sale of balls, pellets or missiles designed for air guns to be sold to minors. The proposed bill would also make it clear that BBs or projectiles cannot be sold to minors.

Air rifles “can absolutely kill people,” said MPD Assistant Chief of Uniformed Services Reid Pursley, noting how the department has been working on legislation for over a year that would regulate possession of such firearms and protect the community.

In regards to replica guns, Pursley said that no person would be able to carry or possess, whether concealed or displayed, a replica gun in an area of a motor vehicle where they could access it, according to the bill.

A replica gun would be defined as a toy or other object, not including an air gun or an actual firearm, that resembles an actual firearm and doesn’t have features to readily distinguish it from an actual firearm.

Additionally, it would be unlawful to carry, possess, brandish, aim, point or display a replica gun to another person as a way to frighten, threaten, harass, panic or annoy them.

“A lot of the ones we see with this are road rage type incidents,” Pursley said. They don’t have a real gun but they point it — we do get a lot of calls about people getting into an argument on the road and somebody pulls out what I thought was a gun. … This will address the replica gun issue, one we don’t currently have in place.”

Replica guns or BB guns often feature a red tip, but that is sometimes scraped off, making it difficult for people and officers to distinguish whether the gun is real or a toy. A couple of replica guns were recovered from Maui school students for terroristic threatening last year, Nakamura said.

Any person who violates the new law would be fined up to $500 and/or imprisoned for up to one year.

Some of the numerous exceptions under the bill include allowing possession of air or replica guns at home; allowing air or replica guns to remain lawful for regulated hunting purposes; allowing air or replica guns to be used on an enclosed range designed and properly constructed for such use; and allowing anyone under the age of 18 to be supervised, guided and instructed by a responsible adult at a target range.

“I think this is an important safety measure for our community and it’s a sign of the times,” said Council Member Tom Cook on Wednesday. “I’m glad that you brought this forward and anything we can do to help that MPD with their job, I’m supportive of, so I’m very supportive of this.”

Considering recent gun violence on Oahu, Council Member Shane Sinenci said he’s “happy to push this forward” since the measure is very timely and will enforce safety among keiki and officers.

The bill only regulates possession but doesn’t prevent someone over the age of 18, including a felon, to purchase air guns or rifles and replica guns, Nakamura said, which Council Member Yuki Lei Sugimura said is concerning.

Sugimura said she’d look into collaborating with the state Legislature on regulating the purchase and sale of such guns by enforcing background checks, for example.

“I got to carry the gun — it is very real and pretty scary if you’re under a situation where you have people that you want to arrest and it looks like a real gun, feels like a real gun, but it’s dangerous,” Sugimura said. “So whatever way we can to, you know, make your job safer, we are here to support you.”

Council Member Keani Rawlins-Fernandez said she’s happy to support legislation that helps the department and community feel safer.

“I am, however, very saddened that, you know, America’s obsession with guns and gun culture has bled into Hawaii,” Rawlins-Fernandez noted. “I wish we would invest more into social safety nets and providing for all the social and economic needs of our community, so that these wouldn’t be the kind of measures that we would take to make people feel safe and I think prevention is far more effective and healthy for everyone.”

The proposed bill now moves on to the full council for two readings. To view the full measure, visit mauicounty.legistar.com/Legislation.aspx and search “Bill 169.”

* Staff Writer Dakota Grossman can be reached at dgrossman@mauinews.com.

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