Guam's Legislature Overrides Governor's Veto. Suppressors/Silencers Restored to Legal Status

Governor Lou Leon Guerrero, public domain

The bill to restore silencers/suppressors to legal status in Guam was introduced by William A. Parkinson on January 15, 2025. Senator Parkinson is a Democrat in Guam. Nine of the fifteen senators in Guam are Republicans. Ten votes are needed in the Guam legislature to override a governor’s veto. If all 9 Republican senators in the Guam legislature vote for the bill with Senator Parkinson, they could override Governor Guerrero’s veto. That is what happened on July 31, 2025.

The legislature had previously passed legislation to restore legal status for suppressors/silencers in 2021, but governor Guerrero had vetoed the bill. She vetoed the silencer/suppressor bill for the second time in June of 2025. From guampdn.com:

The governor vetoed the bill in June, over concern that the devices could be used to mask the sound of gunshots in a life-threatening situation.

“Suppressors are not what we’ve seen on television. They don’t make guns completely silent,” Parkinson said Monday. They are a safety tool for people who practice with firearms in a responsible manner.”

He said suppressors prevent hearing loss for those who are exercising their Second Amendment right and practicing with firearms.

The Guam legislature overrode the Governor’s veto on July 31, 2025. From nationalguntrusts.com:

 Guam became the first U.S. Territory to legalize suppressors, also know as silencers.  This decision came by overriding Governor Lou Leon Guerrero’s veto on July 31, 2025, when the legislature passed the Hearing Protection Act of 2025 – Bill No. 27-38.  The bill was passed with a decisive 10-5 margin.  The bill was backed by all nine republicans and included one democrat in the 10 votes and was lead by Senator William Parkinson.

The bill is well written. It takes into account the potential changes in the Federal law about silencers.  From Bill No. 27-38:

§60103. Ownership, etc., Permitted.

Any person who qualifies under this Chapter may lawfully own, possess, use or carry any rifle, shotgun, pistol or revolver not prohibited by §60102 subject to the conditions and penalties provided in this Chapter. Mufflers, silencers, or devices for deadening the sound of discharged firearms are permitted; provided, that the specifications, purchase, ownership, and possession of the device complies with applicable federal laws, rules, and regulations.”

Bill No. 27-38 has been carefully worded to allow for changes in the federal law about silencers/suppressors. The federal law is in a state of flux. The $200 tax on silencers/suppressors has been eliminated. It is possible silencers/suppressors will be removed from the National Firearms Act. Bill No. 27-38 only requires suppressors in Guam to be in compliance with federal law and regulations. If certain federal requirements are removed, people in Guam will not be required to comply with them.

Guam may be the most conservative American Territory.  Former Governor Calvo of Guam signed a “shall issue” concealed carry law into effect in 2014.

Silencers were first regulated by federal law in 1934 in the National Firearms Act. The legislative intent, or reason to regulate silencers was not clear at the time. An ATF agent told this correspondent his mentor at the ATF told him the Secretary of the Department of the Interior in the Franklin Delano Roosevelt administration has asked for silencers to be included because of concerns they might be used for poaching in national parks. The heavy handed “banning by taxation” of silencers has been a federal national health disaster. Millions of Americans have lost hearing as a result of the short sighted and uninformed policy decision.

©2025 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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