Hawaii: Immediate Action Needed on Instructor Liability Bill

From NRA-ILA

House Bill 679, important NRA instructor liability protection legislation, MUST be heard in the state Senate Judiciary Committee next week or it will die. This legislation passed in the state House by a 47 to 4 vote on March 6 and is still languishing in the state Senate Judiciary Committee.

Introduced by state Representative Ken Ito (D-48) and six other state Representatives, NRA-supported HB 679 would exempt firearms instructors certified by the National Rifle Association from liability for injury or damage caused by discharge of their firearms while providing training required to obtain a permit to acquire firearms. At present, volunteer instructors are vulnerable to Hawaii’s “absolute liability” law.

This is an important measure not only for NRA-certified instructors, but also Hawaii gun owners since once liability protection is established, it will open the door for those seeking to gain instructor status and create more opportunities for gun owners to meet the training standards.

The plaintiff attorneys are tirelessly lobbying state Senator Clayton Hee, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, hoping that he will kill this bill by not granting it a hearing. Please contact Senator Hee TODAY and respectfully urge him to schedule HB 679 for a committee hearing. Senator Hee can be reached by phone at (808) 586-7330 and by e-mail at senhee@capitol.hawaii.gov.

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