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Concealed Licenses, Firearm Registrations on the Rise

Pacific Daily News (Guam)

6 March 2016

By Sabrina Lynn S Monteverde

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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…

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…

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."…

ID: N447

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