Sabrina Lynn S Monteverde

Pacific Daily News

Almost 600 concealed firearms licenses were issued in Guam in 2014 — a dramatic jump from previous years, when the numbers hovered around 100, according to Guam Police Department data. In 2015, more than 800 licenses were issued.

Sen. Tony Ada attributes the dramatic jump to a bill he authored in 2014, which became law that year.

“P.L. 32-150 was enacted in May of 2014,” Ada said. “It makes sense that any jump in the number of concealed (firearms licenses) issued thereafter beyond the previous norm can be attributed to the law’s enactment.”

According to Ada, the law eliminated subjectivity in the language from “GPD may issue” to “GPD shall issue” a concealed firearms license if applicants meet requirements stated in the law. He said changing the language was important to get Guam back in compliance with the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution, which grants the right to keep and bear arms.

Ada explained that, previously, a resident could only be granted a concealed firearms license if authorized by the Chief of Police. Ada said, “The chief had final say in the matter. Residents had no recourse if an application was denied.” According to Ada, this was an infringement upon each applicant’s Second Amendment rights.

The police department issued about 800 non-concealed firearms IDs each year since 2013. The counts reflect both new and renewed IDs, according to GPD Lt. Andrew Quitugua.

The department also reported a total of 16,651 firearms registrations over the past ten years. There were 734 firearms registrations in 2005 — that number increased by almost 400 percent to 3,630 registrations last year. Firearms registrations peaked at 3,680 in 2014. According to Quitugua, the police department has not conducted any research to determine the cause of these increases.

“No research has been conducted to determine the reason for the significant rise in services that are firearms related,” Quitugua said. “Without conducting any studies I am cautious about offering a reason.”

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Registration required

Quitugua said all firearms arriving on island require registration. “Firearms registrations are lifetime and therefore not required to be renewed,” he explained. The only other time GPD registers a firearm more than once is when ownership is transferred from one person to another, according to Quitugua.

“This concept of registering firearms does not allow GPD to accurately account for firearms that (are) physically on the island and legally registered,” Quitugua said. “Some residents who relocate will take these firearms with them off island.”

Ada said that in the course of his 2014 research into the issue of concealed carry permits and firearms ownership, he found an increased interest in gun ownership may be due to a rash of home invasions, assaults and other such crimes.

“There are more criminals who are bolder and more desperate. Our residents have been at a disadvantage when confronted with criminal elements for far too long,” Ada said. “The law needed to be put more on the side of our law-abiding residents.”

Ada said that he hopes Guam is and will be safer as more of our residents arm themselves.

“Not knowing whether anyone is armed should serve as a disincentive to the committing of certain crimes,” he said.

Bill to clarify Guam's firearms law