The U.S. Virgin Islands is suddenly at the center of one of the most aggressive gun-control pushes in America – and island gun owners say the process is as troubling as the policy.
On Bearing Arms’ Cam & Co, journalist Cam Edwards sat down with Kosei Ohno, founder of Virgin Islands Safe Gun Owners (VISGO), to unpack a sweeping bill that, as drafted, would outlaw a wide array of commonly owned firearms and magazines, ban suppressors (even lawfully registered ones), and hand extraordinary discretionary power to the police commissioner.
Both men describe the proposal as a “2A travesty,” but it’s not just the text that has them alarmed.
It’s the way this bill is being advanced – pulled from hearings at the last minute, denying opponents the chance to testify after traveling across islands and even oceans to be heard.
A Bill With Bans – and Nearly Unlimited Discretion
Cam Edwards lays out the top line: the measure is an expansive “assault weapon” ban paired with a magazine capacity ban and suppressor ban. According to Kosei Ohno, it also ropes in accessories, up to and including optics, and makes possession and registration subject to the “satisfaction of the police commissioner.”
That phrase isn’t new in the Virgin Islands. Ohno says it already appears in law (borrowed almost “word for word” from New York), and he contends authorities use it to deny applications outside any published rule or statute.
In practice, he argues, this “satisfaction” standard functions as a blank check – allowing the government to say no to lawful owners without citing an objective requirement.
Here’s the kicker, Ohno adds: the territory hasn’t published updated firearms rules and regulations since 1988.
Not only does that leave citizens guessing what rules they’re supposed to follow; it means discretionary denials can’t be squared against a current, public rule set.
My take: when the government wields subjective standards over a fundamental right – and can’t point to modern, accessible regulations – that’s a due-process disaster waiting to happen.
No Grandfathering, No Compensation – And Punishing Fees
The bill, as Edwards notes, offers no safe harbor for existing owners. If a lawfully possessed firearm is newly banned, Ohno says owners must either modify it to satisfy police, remove it from the territory, or surrender it – without compensation. Refuse all three and you risk confiscation and destruction.
That’s on top of a punitive fee structure. Ohno breaks it down: a $75 initial registration per gun and a $150 renewal per gun every few years (he says police are enforcing a three-year cycle).
For a typical couple with a few handguns and a long gun, renewal day can run hundreds of dollars. For a collector or someone who inherited multiple firearms, it climbs into the thousands – again and again.
And the criminal backdrop is no slap on the wrist. Ohno notes the territory imposes a mandatory minimum 10-year sentence, up to life, for unauthorized possession – an especially harsh threat in a system that makes lawful possession opaque and costly.
As Edwards observes, it’s bizarre when renewal costs exceed initial fees. Usually, lawmakers incentivize compliance. Here, it looks designed to deter ownership altogether.
“We Traveled For Hours – Then They Yanked The Hearing”
If the policy is sweeping, the process has been bruising. Edwards recounts repeated hearing-day reversals: residents who booked planes and boats to reach St. Croix or St. Thomas on a few days’ notice, only to be told at the last minute the bill was being pulled. Again.
Ohno describes one whirlwind: invited to testify on short notice, he flew 14 hours back to the territory, hopped another flight to the sister island, waited all afternoon with supporters who’d braved rough seas – and five minutes before his testimony, the bill was withdrawn “for technical reasons.”
Even when VISGO finally got formal invitations, Ohno says amendments weren’t shared in time to submit written testimony by the deadline, making meaningful public feedback nearly impossible.
The result, he argues, is a portrait of legislative gamesmanship—one that looks less like debate and more like ambush.
My view: you don’t have to agree with a single policy point to see the democratic problem. When lawmakers yank the football mid-kick, especially in a territory where inter-island travel is costly and time-consuming, they aren’t just inconveniencing opponents – they’re chilling participation.
The Lawsuit Behind The Movement
VISGO didn’t spring up out of nowhere. Cam Edwards points out that a running legal fight primed the pump.
Ohno’s federal lawsuit targets the territory’s discretionary carry licensing. He says he held Virgin Islands carry approvals before and has a Washington State license, but when a new police commissioner took over, the goalposts moved.
Suddenly, staff demanded a local driver’s license – something not in law or the antiquated regs. When counsel pushed back, he says the rationale shifted again: other ATF-related reasons, then blanket statements like “we don’t approve that kind of firearm,” none of which appeared in any published rule.
The appeals process, Ohno adds, is stacked: if the commissioner denies you, you have 15 days to sue in Superior Court or the decision sticks forever.
Worse, the standard requires proving fraud or misrepresentation – an extraordinarily high bar. That’s why he filed in federal district court, which routes to the Third Circuit.
This is where Bruen looms large. Subjective “to the satisfaction” standards sit very poorly under a text-and-history test. If the new bill compounds that subjectivity while banning common arms, it’s not just a policy debate – it’s an engraved invitation to litigation.
Do These Restrictions Even Target Crime?
Policy aside, Edwards asks the obvious: does any of this reduce violence?
Ohno points to testimony from a former Virgin Islands firearms director and National Guard veteran, Bernard Burke: lawfully registered guns aren’t the ones turning up in crime.
The people who walk into the police station, give fingerprints, and pay fees are not the ones committing armed robberies. The criminals aren’t registering at all.
That mirrors what we see stateside. High-fee registration systems primarily burden the compliant. Meanwhile, violent actors – by definition – ignore the paperwork.
There’s political context too. Edwards references an earlier interview where the governor mused about easing the legal-ownership process because decades of ratcheting up restrictions hadn’t produced the promised safety dividend.
If that’s still his view, the question becomes whether he’d veto an extreme ban that arrives on his desk. Ohno thinks public pressure could matter – especially now that gun owners have organized.
A Grassroots Counterweight Forms
That organization is Virgin Islands Safe Gun Owners. Ohno says the group has surged from a living-room handful to nearly 200 members in a territory of roughly 100,000 people, where Senate races can swing on a few hundred votes.
VISGO’s petition has gathered hundreds of signatures in short order, and the group is building out infrastructure (including vis40.org) to coordinate alerts and testimony.
This is what real grassroots looks like: fishermen, small-business owners, veterans, parents – people with day jobs and ferry tickets – learning bill numbers, committee calendars, and the art of the three-minute statement.
It’s also what accountability looks like. If a revised bill appears without meaningful fixes – grandfathering, objective criteria, regulatory transparency, sane fees – expect VISGO to raise the temperature.
And if the Legislature tries to sprint the measure through committee of the whole, as Edwards warns is procedurally possible, expect a courtroom sprint to follow.
A Bill that Tears Up 2A
Cam Edwards frames it plainly: the Second Amendment applies in the U.S. Virgin Islands as fully as it does in any state.
A bill that bans commonly owned firearms and magazines, outlaws suppressors even with ATF tax stamps, denies compensation for forced surrenders, and entrenches subjective approval standards doesn’t just push the envelope – it tears it up.
Kosei Ohno adds the on-the-ground reality: opaque rules, ever-shifting demands, sky-high fees, and a hearing process that treats citizens’ time as expendable. That combination isn’t governance – it’s deterrence by design.
My view? If lawmakers believe the public is with them, they should welcome a real debate – transparent amendments, accessible hearings, and a clean vote.
If instead they tuck this into late-night agendas and yank the mic when opponents arrive, they shouldn’t be surprised when courts, not committees, have the final word.
Until then, VISGO’s message is simple: publish clear rules, set objective standards, stop punishing the compliant, and let the people speak before you take their rights.
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Mark grew up in the heart of Texas, where tornadoes and extreme weather were a part of life. His early experiences sparked a fascination with emergency preparedness and homesteading. A father of three, Mark is dedicated to teaching families how to be self-sufficient, with a focus on food storage, DIY projects, and energy independence. His writing empowers everyday people to take small steps toward greater self-reliance without feeling overwhelmed.