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Gun control proposal heads to Senate
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Posted on Mar 21 2000
Alarmed by the recent shooting of a six-year-old girl at a Michigan school by her classmate, local lawmakers have passed a measure seeking stiffer penalties on adults who provide children easy access to guns.
Under the proposal of Rep. Rosiky F. Camacho, the misdemeanor offense will carry up to $1,000 in fine and 30-day jail sentence if they allowed a minor to use or possess a firearm without adult supervision.
For failure to secure a firearm out of reach from minors, the penalties will be $500 fine and a three-day imprisonment, according to House Bill 12-84.
Called the Minor Children Firearms Control Act of 2000, the legislation is a response to the Michigan shooting which killed Kayla Rolland who was shot to death by her classmate while in school.
This has raised “serious concerns in the community regarding the need to protect our youth from tragic incidents that seem like common occurrence in the United States,” stated a committee report endorsing the bill.
The Attorney General’s Office have recommended the civil and criminal sanctions against adults who provide firearms to minors without their supervision as well as those who fail to store their guns in secure areas.
Several firearm owners on the island keep their weapons in their houses, which makes its easy for children to possess or use them, according to the findings of the Legislature.
By enacting the legislation, it will prevent the adults from providing such an easy access, while spelling out their civil and criminal liabilities.
The bill now heads to the Senate for action.
