EDITORIAL— Liberal gun laws

One detail stood out in a previous hearing of the Senate impeachment court: private gun ownership in this country is exceptionally liberal.

Under a five-level classification of people who may be authorized to own guns, the number of firearms allowed for civilians ranges from two for a Type 1 license holder, to 15 and above – effectively meaning unlimited – for Type 5, issued to “certified gun collectors.”

Who qualifies as a gun collector is unclear and therefore highly discretionary on the part of the licensing authority, the Philippine National Police and its Firearms and Explosives Office.

Being highly discretionary, anyone with the right connections, including politicians and barangay officials, can be classified as a “collector” and allowed to own an “unli” number of guns.

Republic Act 10591, the Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition of 2013, allows ownership only of “small” firearms – pistol, revolver, rifle and shotgun. But “Class-A light weapons” – defined by the law as submachine guns, assault rifles and automatic light machine guns up to caliber 7.62MM already owned before RA 10591 took effect – can still be registered.

One of the senators expressed surprise over the possibility that a private citizen can keep an arsenal at home, and raised the need to amend RA 10591. Gun enthusiast Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, however, pointed out that most crimes are committed using unlicensed firearms.

That’s not entirely true. In an extreme case, the Ampatuans behind the massacre of 58 people in November 2009 used several government-issued guns, distributed to members of their private army.

Bodyguards of politicians, mostly cops and soldiers plus civilians who serve as force multipliers, use licensed weapons for harassment of political rivals.

Liberal gun ownership laws also provide easy access to firearms. A gun can be purchased from a legitimate outlet, but the dealer won’t micromanage the licensing of the sold item.

Gun ownership is a privilege, not a right, and there is a stringent process for weapon registration even for simple possession, including a rigorous psychiatric exam. But how many “collectors” actually comply with each step in the process?

There is also the requirement under RA 10591 for proper storage of guns, with Type 5 license holders required to maintain a vault or container kept under lock and key. Yet how many owners comply with this requirement? The nation has seen the tragic consequences of having licensed guns lying around, in the three deadly school shooting rampages carried out by teenagers who used their relatives’ guns.

How many guns does one person need for self-defense? The safest countries in this region – Singapore, Japan and South Korea – do not allow private gun ownership. RA 10591 is ripe for amendment.