Hawaii isn't a gun-friendly state by any stretch of the imagination. They're downright hostile and even their judges seem to think that Hawaii isn't bound by things like the Bruen decision, instead preferring to reference the "aloha spirit" or some such nonsense.

One would be excused for thinking the state has all the gun control anyone could ask for, but it seems they don't.

And anti-gunners are doing their best to "fix" that this legislative cycle.

Gun safety advocates are fighting against a deadline to schedule a conference committee hearing by Wednesday to ban assault weapons here in the islands.

They argue that these types of weapons used in military combat do not belong in the hands of civilians.

"They were military-style weapons that were not created to be in civilian hands," said Rachel Logan of the Moms Demand Action Hawaii chapter. "Anyone that already has one will be able to keep the gun. They're not going to have to relinquish their weapons. No one's coming to take your guns away, but we want to see the ability to buy these weapons to disappear."

In a last-ditch effort, Moms Demand Action urged lawmakers to ban shotguns and semi-automatic rifles that can fire dozens of rounds in seconds, lobbying state leaders to close what they see as a dangerous gap in Hawaii law, which only prohibits assault pistols but not weapons such as AR-15s.

I find their argument unpersuasive.

"This is a weapon of war!"

It's not, of course, but the truth is that even if it were, that's exactly why it shouldn't be banned. 

Our Founding Fathers explicitly wanted the American people to have the means to defend themselves from any tyrannical government, either ours or some foreign power's. That means military hardware or at least firepower comparable to what a military might field.

And don't tell me that no one is coming for these guns. People in other states heard that before, and damned if a little time didn't pass and the anti-gunners decided to change their minds.

There's a reason we're not willing to give up ground anymore. There's no chance they won't come for it later.

Yet the truth of the matter is that Hawaii shouldn't be looking at banning these guns in the first place. Guns aren't the issue. They've never been the issue.

Plus, while Hawaii may not be the first place people think of for hunting, they do have a pretty decent-sized hog population that gets hunted. Maybe it's just me, but when I'm going after a hog, I want a gun that is big, mean, can fire a lot of rounds quickly, and can be reloaded in a hurry. The Second Amendment isn't about hunting, but that's something most anti-gunners claim they don't want to touch.

This measure would do precisely what they've long claimed they don't want to do.

Though, in fairness, it's not like I ever believed them in the first place. Today, it's just banning future sales. Next, it'll be taking up the guns still in private hands. Then it'll be something else.

We all know that this semi-auto ban isn't going to go anywhere beyond getting worse for the people of Hawaii.