HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — A proposal to slap harsher penalties on anyone who uses a gun to commit a felony saw bipartisan support from lawmakers during the legislative session this week.
Sen. Tom Fisher’s Bill 79-37 would raise the minimum prison sentence to 10 years for those who use or possess a firearm in the commission of a felony, up from the current minimum of five years. That sentence would be tacked on top of any other prison time that results from the felony conviction.
Though still awaiting a final vote from senators, passage can be expected as 13 of Fisher’s 14 colleagues consented to be added on as co-sponsors to the measure Tuesday. That’s a veto-proof majority of lawmakers, should support hold.
Fisher said the harsher sentence would be a significant weapon for prosecutors, who could use the threat of a decade behind bars to leverage plea deals from the accused. The senator read through a slew of recent headlines that reported shootings on the island.
“If you’re going to point a gun at somebody – whether or not you pull the trigger – you’re going to cause such a significant distress to an individual that you merit increased punishment for that,” he said.
Guam was in a “war” with criminals, Fisher added. “And we’re going to win. We’re going to crush these people,” he said.
Drug-related crime
Debate between senators eventually turned to residents’ increasing fears of not being secure in their homes – and the scourge of crystal methamphetamine use.
Republican Minority Leader Sen. Frank Blas Jr., a former Guam Police Department officer, said gun killings went hand in hand with the sale and use of illegal drugs. Though officers are trained to respond to any kind of weapon, gun killings were the most common and penalties should be ramped up for that reason.
“During my drug enforcement days, every single homicide that I had to deal with in drug enforcement dealt with a firearm. … I couldn’t think of one of them that dealt with somebody getting bludgeoned over the head with a bat or multiple stabbings,” Blas said.
Most states already treat gun crimes as more serious offenses, said Speaker Therese Terlaje, who has a background as a lawyer and criminal justice professor. She said the data was unclear on whether harsher sentences deterred gun crime. “Our situation is serious,” Terlaje said, adding she would support the bill in the hope it works.
“We’re all disgusted,” said Sen. Chris Barnett, chair of the public safety committee, of high rates of crime, which he attributed to the meth epidemic. Barnett said he didn’t believe harsher gun sentences would prevent crimes committed by meth users, but said something had to be done to punish those who do break the law.
“I support it. I just don’t think it’s going to be a deterrent. Anybody who is so strung out on crystal meth, they don’t even know what planet they’re on. … But you sit in that jail cell for 10 to 25 years – maybe it will come to you,” he said.
‘Anti-people-shooting-people’
Only Sen. Will Parkinson opposed the bill, on the grounds that it might have a “cooling effect” on lawful gun ownership “if people know that there might be the potential of a 10-year minimum felony that the attorney general could potentially exploit against them.”
Parkinson said his goal as a lawmaker was to make gun laws friendlier to potential firearm owners, and that the measure sent a strong message that the Legislature was anti-gun.
“We’re not an anti-gun community here in Guam,” Barnett responded. “I think what we want to be is anti-people-shooting-people.” It was a statement Fisher agreed with.
Parkinson was the only senator who was not added to the measure as a co-sponsor.
Bill 79-37 moved to the voting file without objection.
Sen. William Parkinson speaks in opposition of Bill 79-37 during session Monday, July 24, 2023, at the Guam Congress Building in Hagåtña. Parkinson said his goal as a lawmaker was to make gun laws friendlier to potential firearm owners, and that the measure sent a strong message that the Legislature was anti-gun.
