Rota welcomes shooting resorts

Hundreds of Rota residents have penned their support to a petition calling for the revival of the Shooting Range bill that would pave the way for the establishment of international “shooting resorts” on the island.

Copies of the 43-page thick petition enlisting the names of Rota residents were submitted by Rota Mayor Benjamin T. Manglona to Governor Pedro P. Tenorio, the Senate, the House, and the Rota Legislative Delegation in a last-ditch effort to convince local leaders of Rota’s strong interest to embrace the investment opportunity.

The people of Rota has described the shooting range initiative as an “economic stimulation” measure the island and the Commonwealth desperately needs.

“Without a doubt we all seek more government revenues. We all want growth in local businesses. There’s no responsible leader in the Commonwealth who doesn’t hope for more jobs for the people,” read the circulated petition.

Rota residents assured that the weapons bill or H.B. 12-212 will not indiscriminate the use of weapons as feared by many.

Supporters further issued a guarantee that firearms will be used only at the resorts under the most stringent supervision of licensed experts, in accordance with tight security regulations of the International Shooting Sport Federation.

“Our own Dept. of Public Safety will have the last word. We ask you most respectfully to give our economy a chance,” the people of Rota urged the governor.

Mr. Manglona, in a letter, also prodded Senate President Paul A. Manglona and House Speaker Benigno R. Fitial for support in seeking for an override of the shooting resort bill.

The Rota official has appealed for leaders to accommodate “Rota only” amendments under the initiative that is envisioned to make possible the establishment of shooting resorts on the island alone.

The mayor claims the governor is amenable to the new approach the Rota group is spearheading.

A pending proposal by Korean investors to build $25 million shooting resorts on the islands has met strong opposition from various sectors in the community.

Safety concerns have commonly been at issue with the multi-million dollar foreign investment.

Backed with the appropriate security regulations, shooting experts have long been trying to convince local residents of the sport’s safety.

“Shooting events are allowed only inside shooting ranges and never outside the domain. So there will be no shooting on the streets and weapons will not be allowed outside,” assured Asia University Shooting Confederation Vice Chairman Kuo Chung-Hsing from Taiwan in an earlier interview.

He added that shooters will only have access to guns provided they have been cleared by authorities to handle the weapons.

Experts also guaranteed that trained supervisors will strictly be monitoring the whereabouts of the shooters as well as the guns, assisted by police officers.

Tourists traveling with their own weapons will not be given the opportunity to transport the guns to the shooting ranges, according to Mr. Chung-Hsing.

Supervisors and policemen will be tasked to secure the weapons for the tourists until they are inside the shooting range. Meanwhile, the gadgets will be kept in a sealed armory.

To detail concrete safety measures, the URS Corp. has developed a manual on the security and safety regulations which covers restrictions, construction standards, and other elements involved in the operation of the shooting facility.

According to the proposed safety regulations, minors, incompetent, and quasi-incompetent persons shall not be issued a shooting permit.

Other restricted individuals also include a bankrupt who has not been reinstated, a drug addict, a person who has been sentenced to a penalty more than imprisonment but its execution has not been terminated, a person who has been sentenced to a penalty more than imprisonment and has been on parole, and a person who has violated laws related with firearms, swords, and/or gunpowder and sentenced to a penalty more than a fine no longer than one year.

The kinds of firearms for tourists training available at the resort are firearms for clay shooting, rifles, and handguns subject to quantity and limitation of use, according to the proposed regulations.

Moreover, Mr. Chung-Hsing ascertained that once CNMI adds shooting as another form of recreation atop its wide range of tourist attractions, more Japanese and Korean tourists will be hopping to the islands for that tropical shooting experience.