Hawaii isn’t exactly known for its gun friendliness. But gun owners both in the state and ultimately around the entire nation could be subjected to additional scrutiny under a bill recently passed by the Hawaii legislature. If signed off by Gov. David Ige, SB 2954 would allow “county police departments to enroll firearms applicants and individuals who are registering their firearms into a criminal record monitoring service used to alert police when an owner of a firearm is arrested for a criminal offense anywhere in the country.” That database, known as a “Rap Back,” is managed by the FBI.

As PJMedia’s Liz Sheld explains, “Techdirt describes the ‘Rap Back’ database as ‘one that provides constant monitoring of certain people — like suspected criminals, people on parole, employees with security clearances and "trusted positions.”’ The FBI’s Stephen Fischer … explains positions of trust are positions like school teachers and bus drivers. Take note, this database is mixing criminals and non-criminals and potentially gun owners.“ Suffice to say, Democrats already treat gun owners like criminals, so this move hardly seems radical to them.

Allison Anderman with the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence praised the proposition as "groundbreaking.” But the only thing really being broken is the important barriers spelled out in the Constitution. As the NRA put it, “The exercise of an individual’s Second Amendment rights is not inherently suspicious and should not require a person to surrender other civil liberties, including unwarranted invasions of privacy or unequal treatment under the law. The lawful acquisition, possession, carrying, or use of a firearm does not justify subjecting citizens to ongoing monitoring.” This move would set a dangerous precedent. And that’s the scariest part. If Gov. Ige doesn’t veto this bill, expect a massive legal firestorm to ensue.