Arcio, Cherrilyn

Barba, Edel Quinne S.

Dulag, Carol T.

COMPREHENSIVE LAW ON FIREARMS AND AMMUNITIONS R.A 10591 IN TABUK CITY

Background of the Study

Gun control is one of the most controversial and emotional issues in many countries, with
the debate often centering on whether regulations on an individual’s right to arms are an undue
restriction on liberty and whether there is a correlation between guns and crime. Proponents of
gun-control legislation assert that the strict enforcement of gun-control laws saves lives and
reduces crime. By contrast, opponents of gun control assert that minimal restrictions on guns
ensure that individuals have adequate means for self-defense and that a wider distribution of
firearms results in safer communities.

Gun control is an issue throughout the world, with each country having the sovereign
authority to regulate firearms within its borders. The vast majority of industrialized countries
have strict gun-control regulations. For example, Japan places restrictions on the possession
and use of all firearms except in limited instances (e.g., hunting, athletic events, and research).
Canada permits the possession and use of firearms for competitions and target practice, but it
forbids the possession of handguns unless an individual can show that a handgun is needed for
self-defense.

The United Kingdom has banned handguns altogether and limits the possession of firearms
to activities such as hunting, target shooting, pest control, and slaughtering. Meanwhile,
Germany permits the ownership of certain firearms so long as an individual meets the
requirements for a firearms ownership license, which include that the applicant be age 18 or
older and have expert knowledge in the handling of firearms and have the necessity to possess
such firearms.

Republic Act No.10591, otherwise known as “THE COMPREHENSIVE LAW ON

FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION AND PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS
THEREOF”, was signed into law by the President of the Philippines on May 29, 2013;

WHEREAS, the Chief of the Philippine National Police is mandated by law to formulate the
necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation of the comprehensive law
regulating ownership, possession, carrying, manufacture, dealing in and importation of firearms,
ammunition or parts and providing stiffer penalties for violations thereof.

Gunshot injuries are often life-changing and have an indelible impact on the victims’ long-
term mental and physical health. Some need permanent, lifelong care, and many others lose
their ability to work, particularly in physically demanding jobs. Yet programmes offering
adequate long-term care, rehabilitation and job retraining are virtually non-existent. The toll that
gun violence has on victims, family members and the medical services has resulted in a chronic
public health crisis – with remarkably little government response. Access to affordable and
quality health care services in the USA should include necessary long-term health interventions,
including long-term pain management, rehabilitation and other support services, and mental
health care.

In the United States, there was a record high number of 39,773 firearm-related deaths in
2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This number
included 23,854 firearm suicides, 14,542 firearm homicides, 553 firearm-related deaths due to
legal interventions (such as police shootings) and operations of war, 486 accidental or
unintentional firearm-related deaths, and 338 firearm-related deaths in which the motive was
undetermined. The 2017 total number was an increase from the more than 38,000 firearm-
related homicides in 2016. The firearm-related death rate also showed a steady increase from
2014, rising from 10.5 in 2014 to 12.2 per 100,000 in 2017. These statistics have inspired efforts
at the federal and state levels to enact gun control legislation to reduce crime and violence.(Gun
control 2018)

To prohibit civil liability actions from being brought or continued against manufacturers,
distributors, dealers, or importers of firearms or ammunition for damages, injunctive or other
relief resulting from the misuse of their products by others. <<NOTE: Oct. 26, 2005 - [S. 397]>>
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in
Congress <<NOTE: Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. 15 USC 7901 note.>>
assembled.

The national policy discourse on ways to further reduce gun violence focuses on either
enhancing existing laws or passing new laws that could prevent violent crimes committed with
guns (e.g., homicides, assaults, robberies) or other forms of gun violence (e.g., fatal and
nonfatal firearm suicides, gun accidents). Such policies include universal background checks,
bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, extreme risk protection orders,
concealed-carry laws, waiting periods, child-access prevention (CAP) laws, minimum age
requirements, prohibitions associated with domestic violence, licensing and permitting
requirements, and a host of other laws and policies covered elsewhere in RAND’s Gun Policy in
America project.
 In 1986 Prompted by complaints that the federal government has been abusing its power to
enforce gun laws, Congress passes the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986. The law limits
the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms from inspecting gun dealers more than once a
year, with follow-up inspections allowed only if multiple violations are found. An amendment is
also passed banning civilian ownership of machine guns manufactured after May 19, 1986.
Weapons made and registered before that date are not affected. The law specifically forbids the
government from creating a national registry of gun ownership.

The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 mandates background checks of gun
buyers in order to prevent sales to people prohibited under the 1968 legislation. Checks would
eventually occur through a new system, the National Instant Criminal Background Check
System (NICS), maintained by the FBI. But records of such checks cannot be preserved
because federal law prohibits the creation of a national registry of gun ownership. Sales by
unlicensed private sellers who are not engaged in gun dealing as a business are not subject to
the checks under federal law, though they are required by some states.

The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 produces a 10-year federal
ban on the manufacture of new semi-automatic assault weapons. The law specifies 19 weapons
that have the features of assault rifles, including the AR-15, certain versions of the AK-47, the
TEC-9, the MAC-10 and the Uzi, several of which had become the preferred weapon of violent
drug gangs. The act also bans large-capacity ammunition magazines, limiting them to 10
rounds. The law does not apply to weapons that were already in legal possession, and there are
easy ways to adapt new weapons to avoid the prohibitions.

References list:
 Charles, Patrick J. "Gun control". Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 Nov. 2020,
https://www.britannica.com/technology/gun-control. Accessed 27 September 2021.

Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 10591. (2013). Retrieved from
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2013/12/07/implementing-rules-and-regulations-of-republic-
act-no-10591/

Gun violence key facts. (2021). Gun violence.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/arms-control/gun-violence/

Gun control. (2018). Opposing Viewpoints Online Collect https://www.gale.com/open-

access/gun-control

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD. (2005). considered and passed Senate.Vol. 151

Peterson, S., & Bushway, S. (2020). Law Enforcement Approaches for Reducing Gun
Violence.

Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. (1993). History of Gun control legislation.

History of Gun Control. (1993). retrieved from

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/history-of-gun-control-legislation/
2012/12/22/80c8d624-4ad3-11e2-9a42-d1ce6d0ed278_story.html

John, F. (1994). The History of Gun control legislation.

o, Cherrilyn A.