She finds herself in the same situation this year after the same “special interest” bill was resurrected in the House of Representatives.
House Bill 16-31, offered by Reps. Raymond D. Palacios, Covenant-Saipan, Justo S. Quitugua, D-Saipan, and House Minority Leader Oscar M. Babauta, Covenant-Saipan, will amend the CNMI Weapons Control Act to promote and allow resort developments offering competitive target shooting.
Sablan said information about H.B. 16-31 may have been “watered down.”
The sponsors of the bill could not be immediately reached for comment.
The House Committee on Commerce and Tourism has scheduled a public hearing on the bill starting at 6 p.m. in the House chamber.
Babauta sponsored the same bill in 2000 but then-Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio vetoed it. “The importation and use of high caliber firearms, which this bill would invite, presents risk of danger to the public which are too great. Concerns for public safety must outweigh any economic consideration,” Tenorio said in his veto message.
‘Resurrected’
H.B. 16-31 and its earlier version, H.B. 12-212, are identical except that the new bill highlights the infusion of up to $25 million in potential investments on Tinian or Rota — where casino gambling is legal — if the local Weapons Control Act is amended.
The current bill will also allow the entry of various types of weapons.
“Weapon” as applied to shooting resorts, means any firearm, rifle shotgun, handgun, archery device, dangerous device, or ammunition approved for use at shooting resorts, the bill stated.
“Ammunition” means any caliber of ammunition or device to be discharged from a weapon that is approved for use at shooting resorts.
Safety vs money
Under H.B. 16-31, a $5,000 license fee will be collected from operators of a shooting gallery and $15,000 from each “shooting resorts.”
The bill, according to its proponents, will allow the CNMI to host major shooting events sanctioned by the International Shooting Sport Federation, which supervises sport shooting competition in the Olympic Games and other international events.
But Sablan said there are no guarantees that the CNMI can attract major investors and added that the safety of the local community should be the government’s paramount interest.
“There’s no guarantee that they are going to make money from this type of investment,” she said. “I am asking the indigenous people, the parents, and youth to support me in opposing this special interest legislation.”
Sablan, who underwent an open heart surgery in Hawaii, said she cannot physically attend today’s scheduled public hearing “but it’s important that the public is informed about this bill.”
She added, “Right now, we feel so secure because we have the best Gun Control Act in the whole of the United States. Even the governor can move around without bodyguards.”
