Honolulu, Hawaiʻi – In response to attacks on Jill Tokuda’s legislative record, a coalition of state lawmakers today defended her record on firearms and called her a fierce advocate for common sense gun control legislation:
“As a mother of two public school-aged children, Jill understands what is at stake and is saddened that her opponent and his mainland supporters would politicize national tragedies for his political gain. During Jill’s tenure as a State Legislator, Hawaiʻi consistently ranked as one of the top states in the country for gun safety and strong gun reform. In the Senate, she was a strong voice for these policy changes and sponsored several legislative measures that strengthened these laws.
The continuing misrepresentation of Jill’s legislative record by Patrick Branco and his cohort of mainland independent expenditure committees is very disappointing.
We urge him to run a clean campaign and call upon these Super PACS to cease negative attacks immediately.
In addition, Branco’s claim to have banned ghost guns is also misleading as the original enabling legislation (Act 74/HB2477), which then-State Representative Chris Lee introduced, was enacted into law before Branco entered the State House.
Jill’s service in the State Senate reflects a passion for local residents, education, and working families. Her support of common sense firearms measures speaks for itself, and we are proud to stand with her as we continue to work hard every day to end gun violence here in Hawaiʻi and around the country.”
The coalition of state legislators includes Senate President Ronald D. Kouchi, Senator Chris Lee, Senator Rosalyn H. Baker, Senator Gil Keith-Agaran, Senator Joy San Buenaventura, Senator Maile Shimabukuro, Senator Clarence Nishihara, Senator Jarrett Keohokalole, Representative Nadine Nakamura, Representative Lisa Kitagawa, Representative Scot Matayoshi, Representative Mark Nakashima, Representative Linda Ichiyama, Representative Stacelynn Eli, Representative Adrian Tam and Representative Justin Woodson.
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