§134-8 Ownership, etc., of automatic
firearms, silencers, etc., prohibited; penalties. (a) The manufacture,
possession, sale, barter, trade, gift, transfer, or acquisition of any of the
following shall be prohibited: assault pistols, except as provided by section
134-4(e); automatic firearms; rifles with barrel lengths less than sixteen inches;
ghost guns; shotguns with barrel lengths less than eighteen inches; cannons;
mufflers, silencers, or devices for deadening or muffling the sound of
discharged firearms; hand grenades, dynamite, blasting caps, bombs, or
bombshells, or other explosives; or any type of ammunition or any projectile
component thereof coated with teflon or any other similar coating designed
primarily to enhance its capability to penetrate metal or pierce protective
armor; and any type of ammunition or any projectile component thereof designed
or intended to explode or segment upon impact with its target.
(b) Any person who installs, removes, or
alters a firearm part with the intent to convert the firearm to an automatic
firearm shall be deemed to have manufactured an automatic firearm in violation
of subsection (a).
(c) The manufacture, possession, sale, barter,
trade, gift, transfer, or acquisition of detachable ammunition magazines with a
capacity in excess of ten rounds that are designed for or capable of use with a
pistol shall be prohibited. This subsection shall not apply to magazines
originally designed to accept more than ten rounds of ammunition that have been
modified to accept no more than ten rounds and that are not capable of being
readily restored to a capacity of more than ten rounds.
(d) Any person violating subsection (a) or (b)
shall be guilty of a class C felony and shall be imprisoned for a term of five
years without probation. Any person violating subsection (c) shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor except when a detachable magazine prohibited under this
section is possessed while inserted into a pistol in which case the person
shall be guilty of a class C felony.
(e) In any prosecution for the manufacture,
possession, sale, barter, trade, gift, transfer, or acquisition of a ghost gun,
it shall be an affirmative defense that the person holds a current license to
sell and manufacture firearms for sale under section 134-31, or that the person
is a dealer licensed by the United States Department of Justice, or that the
firearm is not required to have a serial number under the federal Gun Control
Act of 1968. [L 1988, c 275, pt of §2; am L 1989, c 261, §6 and c 263, §4; am L
1992, c 286, §§3, 4; am L 2025, c 18, §3]
Case Notes
Trial court is
mandated to sentence defendant to a term of imprisonment without any suspension
of the sentence. 69 H. 458, 746 P.2d 976 (1987).
Section not
unconstitutionally vague or overbroad on its face or as applied to defendant
for "possession of a bomb". 87 H. 71, 951 P.2d 934 (1998).
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
39
cases (
8 in the last 5 years), 1981–2025 · leading case:
State v. Kane, 951 P.2d 934 (Haw. 1998).
State v. Kane, 951 P.2d 934 (Haw. 1998).
· cites it 52× “BACKGROUND On the afternoon of October 20, 1996, a pickup truck carrying Kane and three companions was stopped by police near Makai Pier, on Kalaniana'ole Highway, in connection with a robbery attempt that had occurred a few minutes earlier.”
Dist. of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008).
· cites it 2× “§§ 53-202c (2007); Haw.Rev.Stat. § 134-8 (1993); Md.Crim. Law Code Ann.”
Birano v. State., 426 P.3d 387 (Haw. 2018).
· cites it 6× “3 Birano was also indicted on five counts of firearm-related offenses, including two counts of possession of a prohibited firearm in violation of HRS § 134-8(a) 4 (counts four and six); two counts of ownership or possession prohibited of any firearm or ammunition by a person…”
Garringer v. State, 909 P.2d 1142 (Haw. 1996).
· cites it 8× “Garringer was convicted, inter alia, of multiple counts relevant to the instant appeal: Robbery in the First Degree pursuant to Hawai`i Revised Statutes (HRS) § 708-840(1)(b)(ii) (1993) (Count I); [2] Possession of Prohibited Firearm pursuant to HRS § 134-8(a) (Count IV)…”
State v. Vinuya, 32 P.3d 116 (Haw. App. 2001).
· cites it 5× “2000); and (count five) possession of a prohibited firearm, in violation of HRS § 134-8 (1993). The court sentenced Vinuya to an extended indeterminate term of imprisonment of ten years on count one, a twenty-year indeterminate term of imprisonment with a mandatory minimum term…”
State v. Birano, 126 P.3d 357 (Haw. 2006).
· cites it 8× “[4] HRS § 134-8 provides in relevant part that: (a) The manufacture, possession, sale, barter, trade, gift, transfer, or acquisition of any of the following is prohibited: assault pistols, except as provided by section 134-4(e); automatic firearms; rifles with barrel lengths…”
State v. Cornelio, 935 P.2d 1021 (Haw. 1997).
· cites it 4× “Statutes (HRS) § 707-716(l)(d) (1993) (Count One), 1 place to keep firearm in viola *478 tion of HRS § 134-6(c) (1993) (Count Two), 2 prohibited possession of a firearm in violation of HRS § 134-7(b) (1993) (Count Three), 3 prohibited possession of firearm ammunition in…”
State v. Scott, 746 P.2d 976 (Haw. 1987).
· cites it 12× “*459 HRS § 134-8 (1985) prohibits, inter alia, the possession of dangerous weapons, such as machine guns, sawed-off shotguns, and grenades.”
United States v. Trumbull, 114 F.4th 1114 (9th Cir. 2024).
· cites it 3× “11, § 1469 ; Haw. Rev. Stat. § 134-8 ; 720 Ill. Comp. Stat.”
State v. Swafford, 729 P.2d 385 (Haw. 1987).
· cites it 8× “1984)), possession of a prohibited firearm (HRS § 134-8 (Supp. 1984)), and two counts of selling or delivering an unregistered firearm (HRS § 134-3 (Supp.”
— Haw. Rev. Stat. § 134-8(a) — 8 cases
Birano v. State., 426 P.3d 387 (Haw. 2018).
“3 Birano was also indicted on five counts of firearm-related offenses, including two counts of possession of a prohibited firearm in violation of HRS § 134-8(a) 4 (counts four and six); two counts of ownership or possession prohibited of any firearm or ammunition by a person…”
State v. Kane, 951 P.2d 934 (Haw. 1998).
“BACKGROUND On the afternoon of October 20, 1996, a pickup truck carrying Kane and three companions was stopped by police near Makai Pier, on Kalaniana'ole Highway, in connection with a robbery attempt that had occurred a few minutes earlier.”
Garringer v. State, 909 P.2d 1142 (Haw. 1996).
“Garringer was convicted, inter alia, of multiple counts relevant to the instant appeal: Robbery in the First Degree pursuant to Hawai`i Revised Statutes (HRS) § 708-840(1)(b)(ii) (1993) (Count I); [2] Possession of Prohibited Firearm pursuant to HRS § 134-8(a) (Count IV)…”
State v. Vinuya, 32 P.3d 116 (Haw. App. 2001).
“2000); and (count five) possession of a prohibited firearm, in violation of HRS § 134-8 (1993). The court sentenced Vinuya to an extended indeterminate term of imprisonment of ten years on count one, a twenty-year indeterminate term of imprisonment with a mandatory minimum term…”
State v. Birano, 126 P.3d 357 (Haw. 2006).
“[4] HRS § 134-8 provides in relevant part that: (a) The manufacture, possession, sale, barter, trade, gift, transfer, or acquisition of any of the following is prohibited: assault pistols, except as provided by section 134-4(e); automatic firearms; rifles with barrel lengths…”
— Haw. Rev. Stat. § 134-8(c) — 1 case
— Haw. Rev. Stat. § 134-8(d) — 1 case
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