On Tuesday, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D) signed legislation that not only bars people under age 21 from purchasing ammunition, but also prohibits them from merely possessing it.
Guns.com reported that the legislation, SB 2845, “makes it a crime for adults under 21 to ‘own, possess, or control’ ammunition.”
The text of SB 2845 makes two exceptions regarding ammo possession. The first is for those who have “[met] the criteria to possess a firearm” during the age frame in question and the second is for those “actively engaged in hunting or target shooting or going to or from the place of hunting or target shooting.”
No exception is made for purchasing ammunition for the purpose of defending one’s own life.
KHON2 noted that Hawaiian state Rep. Diamond Garcia (R) spoke against raising the age for ammo purchases by pointing out that the new law will constrain the behavior of the law-abiding rather than that of criminals.
Garcia said, “The vast majority of crime that is perpetrated is not done by legal guns or legal ammo. So thinking that, you know, new laws will change behavior is just false. Those who sell weapons illegally don’t care about age, they care about money.”
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.