The Hawaii County administration on Wednesday collectively urged U.S. lawmakers to pass gun safety measures.
During Wednesday’s County Council meeting, Hamakua Councilwoman Heather Kimball introduced a resolution condemning gun violence and supporting nationwide gun control measures following the May mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 19 students and two teachers.
During a tearful introduction, Kimball noted that this year is the 10th since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, that killed 20 children and six adults. Despite that event, she said, and despite the countless mass shootings since then, no substantial reform to gun laws has occurred.
“All I could do was vote for someone who supported gun safety laws,” Kimball said. “And again, in 2018, after the (Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida)… all I could do was vote for someone who supported gun safety laws.
“Something’s got to happen this time,” Kimball went on.
Kimball pointed to a bipartisan gun bill working its way through the U.S. Congress that would establish certain measures to make firearms more difficult to obtain, such as enhancing background checks, and providing resources to states to pass laws allowing authorities to seize weapons from those deemed to be a danger by the courts.
Kimball said she wants to submit the county’s support of the resolution to federal lawmakers to encourage the bill’s passage.
The resolution met with universal support from the council, with all members voting in favor of the resolution. County Managing Director Lee Lord, speaking on behalf of county administration and Mayor Mitch Roth, also said he supports the resolution and stronger gun safety measures.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
