AG Shikada: 'Hawaii has done its part' to combat ghost guns

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Hawaii has seen an increase in the use of 'ghost guns' in crimes. | Daniel Ramirez/Wikimedia Commons

More than 20 Attorneys General have publicly supported a new federal law requiring buyers of so-called "ghost guns" pass a background check before making a purchase, including Hawaii's AG Holly Shikada.

Shiskada and 20 other AGs across the country signed an amicus brief on July 11, Hawaii Gov. David Ige's office announced at the time. The announcement describes "ghost gun" as "unserialized weapons that are often made at home from weapon parts kits or partially complete frames and receivers, and can be purchased without background checks."

"The rule would help ensure that buyers pass background checks before purchasing such kits and that law enforcement officers can trace any self-made guns that are later used in a crime," the announcement reports. "It would also limit gun traffickers’ ability to distribute these dangerous weapons into Hawai‘i."

In passing its own state laws regulating "ghost guns," Shikada said that "Hawaii has done its part to keep communities safe from these untraceable and easily built firearms.”

Hawaii has seen the number of ghost guns seized by law enforcement increase in recent years, according to the governor's office, which cited two recent cases involving a ghost gun. Honolulu Police Department reports a local teen was arrested last month after a traffic altercation; and Maui police reported that during the execution of a search warrant last April, they found a 3D printer and parts for a ghost gun, the report states.

"Absent federal enforcement, these dangerous weapons have continued to proliferate, including in states that have tried to regulate ghost guns themselves," the governor's office states in the report. "The Final Rule from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) helps curb this problem by serving as a vital backstop to existing state efforts to stem the flow of ghost guns."

“We now look to the federal government to adopt this new rule," AG Shikada said in the statement, "to assist in preventing these guns from entering our state without having the necessary safeguards to keep Hawai‘i safe.”

The new regulations are expected to go into effect in July.