PROGUN is a Philippine-based firearms advocacy group which stands for "Peaceful Responsible Owners of Guns." It was founded in 1987 to make it easier for Filipino citizens to own and carry firearms. Although it started off as a non-political group, it became heavily involved in political lobbying and advocacy after a long period of inactivity during the early 2000s.

Political lobbying

From around 2009, PROGUN involved itself with political campaigns to protect firearms rights for Filipinos. Most notably, these included:

• opposition to to the House Bill No. 6776 firearms control bill (filed on October 19, 2009);
• opposition to the Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Versoza's proposal in 2010 to put in place an extended gun ban throughout the country.

2010 Election Gun Ban Statistics Project

As part of its efforts to block the extended gun ban, PROGUN volunteers started a Gun Ban Statistics Project to record violent crimes during the 2010 Philippine Election gun ban. The projects goal was to challenge the official PNP's claims that the ban put in place during the 2010 elections was successful and therefore should be extended permanently.

As of 9 June 2010, the project recorded 429 incidents in which there were 359 injuries and 566 fatalities.

Organizational structure

In line with Philippine law, PROGUN is governed by a board of 15 directors. After the resignation of Chairman Mike Melchor in June 2010, leadership was taken up by President, Atty. JJ D. Mendoza, and Secretary-General, Atty. Ticky Tabujara.

The organization's membership is made up of 15,000 card-carrying members but it also claims to enjoy the support of 1.2 million 'sympathetic' licensed gun owners throughout the Philippines.

Relations with other organizations

At its inception, PROGUN was funded by the Association of Firearms & Ammunition Dealers of the Philippines, Inc. (AFAD). However, disagreements in approach to lobbying caused the two organizations to drift apart during the first decade of 2000. In 2010, AFAD backed the launch of a new firearms group, The A2S5 Coalition, which was formed to oppose the extension of the 2010 election gun ban.

During the Philippine National Police Gun Summit in June 2010, a previously unknown organization called "Total Pro-Gun Confederation" was selected to speak on behalf of the Philippine Firearms community. Its designated representative, Mr. Christopher Punla, gave a controversial speech which appeared to mock the firearms community. PROGUN later issued a statement denying any connection with the "Total Pro-Gun Confederation", saying that it used the 'PROGUN' registered trademark "without license or authority".

See also

• Gun safety
  Gun safety
  Gun safety is a collection of rules and recommendations that can be applied when handling firearms. The purpose of gun safety is to eliminate or minimize the risks of unintentional death, injury or damage caused by improper handling of firearms....
  
  
• National Rifle Association
  National Rifle Association
  The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
  
  
• National Rifle Association of the United Kingdom
  National Rifle Association of the United Kingdom
  The National Rifle Association of the United Kingdom is the governing body of full bore rifle and pistol shooting sports in the United Kingdom.- History :...
  
  
• Gun violence#Election related gun violence in the Philippines
• Right to keep and bear arms

External links

• PROGUN Website
• The Philippine Star: A total gun ban is unacceptable
• Business World: Stricter firearm control set after lifting of gun ban on June 9
• ABS-CBN News: After smoking challenge, Noy dared to pass total gun ban
• The Philippine Star: Gun owners' group asks PNP to reconsider gun ban extension
• GMANews.TV: House committee rejects gun ban proposal