U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda is taking a blowtorch to the problem of so-called “zombie guns” in Honolulu, rolling out a federal bill that would pay local agencies to destroy firearms so thoroughly they can never be brought back from the dead.
Introduced Thursday, the Restoring Trust in Public Safety Act would create a federal funding stream for state, tribal and local law enforcement so they can fully dispose of seized, surrendered and retired guns. The target is the growing trade in “zombie” parts and kits that investigators say can be recycled and rebuilt into untraceable weapons.
According to a press release from Rep. Tokuda's office, the measure would set up a $15 million federal grant program to help agencies buy equipment, bring on staff and run trainings so they can guarantee complete destruction of the firearms and firearm components they control. The office says the money is also meant to cut dependence on private disposal companies that, officials argue, have sometimes allowed usable gun parts to slip back into the marketplace.
“This bill gives our law enforcement agencies the resources to 100% destroy firearms that are seized, surrendered, or retired,” Tokuda said in the release. Her office says the Restoring Trust in Public Safety Act builds on prior efforts to crack down on the interstate flow of unserialized gun kits.
How ‘Zombie Guns’ Sneak Back Onto the Streets
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives defines a “destroyed” frame or receiver as one permanently altered so it cannot readily be turned back into a working part. Approved methods include melting, crushing or shredding. Those standards are laid out in ATF regulations, but in practice some government contracts have required only that a single component be crushed.
Coverage from Spectrum News Hawaii and other outlets describes private firms that crush the receiver, then turn around and sell the remaining parts, which can be combined into ghost guns that are difficult or impossible to trace.
Who Is Lining Up Behind the Bill
The proposal is drawing support from both Hawaiʻi law enforcement and national gun-safety advocates. Maui Now reports that the Hawaiʻi Department of Law Enforcement, the Hawaiʻi Police Department and the Kauaʻi Police Department have endorsed the measure. National groups backing the bill include Brady, Giffords, March for Our Lives and Everytown for Gun Safety.
Why Hawaii Officials Say the Stakes Are Real
Hawaii officials say the issue is not abstract. Ghost guns and loose parts have already complicated investigations and prosecutions on the islands, where tracing how a weapon got into the wrong hands can be key to building a case.
Local reporting by Honolulu Civil Beat has detailed cases in which investigators struggled to figure out how unregistered firearms reached offenders, highlighting gaps in the chain from seizure to destruction.
What Happens Next on Capitol Hill
For Tokuda’s proposal to become reality, it still has to clear committee hearings and win floor votes in both chambers of Congress. The full text is posted by Rep. Tokuda's office, and lawmakers will now decide whether to move it forward.
Maui Now notes that the bill is intended to work alongside other proposals focused on gun parts and disposal rules, forming a broader package aimed at keeping seized weapons from quietly reentering circulation.
What It Means Legally
The Restoring Trust in Public Safety Act is structured as a grant program rather than a new criminal law, but it sits alongside separate efforts to tighten federal destruction and disposal requirements. Earlier legislation such as the Destroy Zombie Guns Act would change federal practices for how firearms are destroyed and how parts can be sold, according to Congress.gov.
Tokuda’s bill zeroes in on what supporters describe as a narrow but crucial funding gap that allows weapons meant for the scrap heap to find their way back onto the street. If Congress approves the grants and departments shift more destruction work in-house, backers say it could shrink the market for untraceable parts and make sure that when police seize a gun, it stays gone.
.jpg){kind=link}