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IN SUPPORT OF DEFEND HAWAII: SB2054

  • Writer: Abbra Green
    Abbra Green
  • Feb 9
  • 5 min read

IN SUPPORT OF DEFEND HAWAII: SB2054

(This Testimony was submitted by Secretary Green on behalf of the Libertarian Party of Hawaii on February 09, 2026.)


The Libertarian Party of Hawaii strongly supports SB2054 (the Defend Hawaii Bill) and we are proud to have helped in these efforts. While this version is narrower than our original proposal, it remains a historic, pragmatic, and urgently needed victory for Hawaii’s liberty, autonomy, constitutional rights, and the original public meaning of the Second Amendment. SB2054 amends Hawaii Revised Statutes §121-30 by adding a clear, enforceable prohibition: 

Defend Hawaii Act
“Except as required by federal or state law, the commanding officer of any Hawaii National Guard unit under state control or Title 32 status shall not assist, cooperate with, or provide any resources to federal troops, federal law enforcement, or out-of-state National Guard units operating in Hawaii if the Governor has objected to those deployments” (SB2054, §1(b), 2026).

This is a direct statutory shield that empowers Hawaii’s elected Governor to say “no” when unwanted federal forces seek to operate on our soil. It ensures Hawaii’s own militia remains first and foremost dedicated to protecting our people, responding to our disasters, and serving our communities.


Constitutional Foundations: State Sovereignty, Federalism, and the Tenth Amendment

Life, Liberty, Peace. Defend Hawaii.

The United States Constitution explicitly reserves for the states a primary authority over their militias. Article I, Section 8, Clauses 15 and 16 grant Congress power to “provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions” and to “provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia,” but expressly reserve to the states the appointment of officers and the authority to train the militia “according to the discipline prescribed by Congress” (U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 16).

The Tenth Amendment reinforces this: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people” (U.S. Const. amend. X). The Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed that the National Guard remains a state force unless and until it is lawfully federalized under Title 10 (Perpich v. Dep’t of Def., 496 U.S. 334, 351 (1990) (“The National Guard is a state force unless and until it is federalized”)).


Federal statutes explicitly respect gubernatorial authority in Title 32 status: 32 U.S.C. § 502(f) allows requests for state participation, but governors retain command and control and may refuse. 


Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 121 establishes the Governor as commander-in-chief of the state militia and National Guard when not in federal service (§121-2, §121-7).


On the Second Amendment: Preserving the Militia as a Bulwark of Liberty

The Second Amendment demands that we protect the exact structure and purpose the Framers enshrined: 

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Supreme Court held that the operative clause protects an individual right of the people to keep and bear arms for lawful purposes, including self-defense. Yet the prefatory clause, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State”, is not irrelevant. It declares the central purpose: to ensure that the body of the armed citizenry remains capable of defending the state and checking centralized power.


James Madison in Federalist No. 46 explained that an armed populace loyal to state authority would form “a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of.” The militia was never limited to a standing government force; it was the people themselves, bearing their own arms.


SB2054 protects this constitutional design by ensuring that Hawaii’s organized militia and their National Guard, cannot be commandeered by federal authorities against the state’s will. By preserving the independence of the state-controlled force, this measure helps maintain the broader militia system that the Framers intended as the ultimate safeguard of a free state.


Why This Bill Is Essential for Hawaii

Our Guard is not a federal auxiliary. It is Hawaii’s, trained, equipped, and commanded by our Governor for our unique island needs. SB2054 ensures that these needed resources cannot be diverted for federal priorities over the Governor’s objection. This bill protects individual liberties by preventing deployment of armed state forces into domestic situations without clear state consent. It upholds the non-aggression principle and the original meaning of the Second Amendment as a check on centralized military power and command.


The Libertarian Party of Hawaii has fought for protections like this for decades. SB2054 is the direct result of our advocacy, our drafting, and our persistent public pressure. Its passage is a win for liberty, a win for the Second Amendment, and a win for Hawaii.

We urge the Committee to pass SB2054 unanimously and without amendments that weaken. Advance the Defend Hawaii Bill to the full Senate and to the House. Let Hawaii lead the nation in reclaiming state sovereignty over its own National Guard and in honoring the Framers’ vision of an armed and free people.


Thank you for the opportunity to testify. We are available for questions and ready to provide additional materials, including our original Defend Hawaii Act draft.

In Liberty,

Abbra Green | LPHI Secretary | LibertarianHawaii.com | (808)824-LPHI


Help Us Support Stand In Support of Defend Hawaii: SB2054

The first hearing is scheduled for February 10, 2026 @ 3;07pm HST. Take action by following two steps:

  1. Click on the hyperlink to familiarize yourself with the bill text: SB2054


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References

District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008). https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/554/570/

U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 15–16; amend. X. https://constitution.congress.gov/

Libertarian Party of Hawaii. (2025, January 22). Defend Hawaii Activism Packet | FREE Download. https://www.libertarianhawaii.com/post/defend-the-guard-hawaii-activism-packet-free-download 

Libertarian Party of Hawaii. (2026). Defend Hawaii Update | Support SB2054. https://www.libertarianhawaii.com/post/defend-hawaii-update-support-sb2054


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