Monday, January 03, 2022

Guam: Democrat Governor Vetos Hearing Protection Act


 Governor Lou Leon Guerrero, public domain

The Democrat Governor of Guam, Lourdes (Lou) Aflague Leon Guerrero, vetoed legislative bill 73-36, the "Hearing Protection Act" on December 22, 2021. The bill had passed the Senate by a narrow margin on December 15. With only 13 Senators present, the bill passed on a 7 to 6 bipartisan vote. From the americansuppresorassociation.com:

Of the 15 member legislature, 13 lawmakers were present for the vote. With Vice Speaker Barnes and Sen. Terlaje absent and excused, only 7 votes were needed for passage. That threshold was met when Senators Tony Ada, Frank Blas Jr., Christopher M. Dueñas, James Moylan, Clynton Ridgell, Telo Taitague, and Mary Torres all voted in favor of the bill.

Speaker Therese Terlaje and Senators Joanne Brown, Sabina Perez, Joe San Agustin, and Amanda Shelton voted against the Hearing Protection Act.

Governor Guerrero was elected with 50.7% of the vote in 2018, is up for re-election in 2022. She is the first female governor of Guam. There are about 56,000 registered voters in Guam, out of a population 169,000. Governor Guerrero received over 18,000 votes.

In her explanatory letter, she gives this reason for the veto:

The very reason proponents of the bill advocate for lifting of the restrictions is the reason the restriction must remain in place - while they do not eliminate it, suppressors and silencers, by design, substantially suppress the sound of gunfire, which is one of the most easily recognizable warnings that a gun has been fired in a person’s vicinity, lawfully or unlawfully, and enables that person to get to safety.

Supporters of the bill noted that suppressors are seldom used in crime, are legal in 42 states, and aid significantly in reducing the damage to hearing from gunfire. From the bill: 

I Liheslatura further finds that suppressors are legal in 42 states and all but two of these states (Connecticut and Vermont) allow their use for hunting. There are three main reasons people own suppressors and silencers: reduction of noise pollution, hearing protection, and safety training. Suppressors reduce noise by about as much as earmuffs do. No one would ever suggest that a suppressor is an acceptable replacement for muffs, but suppressors are a very good supplement to reduce the sound the reaches the inner ear. Using a combination of a suppressor, earmuffs,and ear plugs can reduce the perceived sound to around 100to 125decibels, the same as a power lawn mower to a jackhammer.

Guam has strict controls on the ownership of firearms. It has  shall issue carry legislation which was passed in 2014

In 2016, Guam passed a bill reforming the Shall Issue law to expand eligibility from US citizens to all legal residents of Guam. Restricting eligibility to US citizens was likely to be challenged in court. 

Five of the nine elected governors of Guam have been Republicans. It seems likely the Hearing Protection Act could pass with the election of a Republican governor. 

Governors in Guam are term limited after two terms. Two Democrats and two Republicans have lost election bids for a second term. 

Senator Tony Ada has been a major proponent of Second Amendment rights in Guam.

Firearm ownership is becoming increasingly popular on Guam, as it is in the United States. Once the shall issue legislation was passed in 2014, the number of people buying guns on Guam approximately doubled. 

Guam is a popular destination for gun tourism from Japan.

©2021 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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2 comments:

ScienceABC123 said...

So by Governor Guerrero's logic, guns should be made louder.

Anonymous said...

My hearing loss is from much larger guns than hunting rifles. I was in Vietnam in the central highlands when some went out for some exercise when they came upon a couple hundred NVA setting up some captured 105 howitzers. They dropped back and called in fire support. we had two track mounted 155mm and two 175mm track mounted guns on the fire base those 105's were being set up to fire on. I had to monitor my rigs for alarms because every time one of those large track mounted guns fired it shook the ground like an earthquake and would knock the systems off line. each of those guns fired at least every five minutes for about four hours and I could not wear any hearing protection and hear which alarms were sounding. I am one person that believes slincers are a very good thing. I think mass producing them would be a great business to go into. just as soon as they are legally accepted. I know what is required to make them very low sounding. and my small machine shop is getting fairly well equipped machine thread taps and dies are fairly expensive. I have drill bits from extremely small to over three feet long up to one inch in diameter. and I ban cast and temper small parts. I sais small machine shop but I can make just about anything I want. wood or metal with the materials I could build a new home and any thing smaller. All I lack is a place to set everything up and I'm working on that. Gun registration just makes a list for collection. there is no other real purpose serial number serve a purpose for identification for ownership right to privacy only the owner needs that number. our government's computers have been hacked by many countries around the world. all an enemy needs to collect all of the guns is what they have hacked for gun registration. Our government would never try to collect them???