Investors defend ‘shooting resorts’

Foreign investors seeking to establish international shooting ranges in the CNMI hosted Saturday an affair that gathered local leaders, prospective investors, and other guests in renewed efforts to calm fears on the safety of setting up so-called “shooting resorts” on the islands.

URS Corporation, a newly-chartered business group that has pledged an initial $25 million for the undertaking, said it was giving the Northern Marianas until the end of December to seize the unique investment opportunity that investors project would boost the local tourism industry.

This was coupled with a promise that should “shooting resorts” become a reality in the CNMI, international shooting competitions will be forthcoming within the next three years from the completion of the facility.

URS Corp. chair Heung-Ku Lee also vowed to provide local students access to scholarships that will hone home-grown professionals in the shooting field.

In a bid to allay mounting fears that “shooting resorts” could lead to the proliferation of gun-related crimes and deaths, URS Corp. has tapped the expertise of Asia University Shooting Confederation vice chair Kuo Chung-Hsing from Taiwan to clear certain “misconceptions” about the shooting sport.

The Taiwanese expert is the second AUSC official to visit CNMI in the last two months since assistant general secretary of AUSC Dr. Woong-Yong Ha last October.

Safety first

Backed with the appropriate security regulations, Mr. Chung-Hsing assured residents that shooting is a safe sport like any other.

“First of all, it should be clear to everyone that 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,” he explained.

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.

To detail concrete safety measures, the URS Corp. has developed a manual on the security and safety regulations which cover 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.

Gun education
Fazed with earlier reports that the 3rd CNMI Youth Congress has vocally denounced the shooting resort project, shooting veteran Dr. Ha from Korea said it is only a matter of educating the youths as well as community members about the use of guns.

“Shooters who will be participating in the international competitions will be made to undergo training first,” he said.

Dr. Ha also vowed to step up widespread and massive education campaigns on the proper and responsible use of guns.

Tourist magnet

Asian Shooting Confederation vice president 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.

In a speech he delivered at Saturday’s gathering, Mr. Chung-Hsing disclosed that there are 147 countries all over the world are members of the International Sports Shooting Federation.

“This is a very popular sport. Japanese and Koreans love to shoot. The activity provides them a sense of enjoyment, relaxation especially if its winter in their countries. Saipan would be the most ideal place for them to spend vacations,” he added.