'Gov't was warned': Opposition weighs in on proposed changes to Firearms Act

By Halshane Burke    

 

The parliamentary opposition says the government was warned about the possible ill effects of the New Firearms legislation on the court system.

 

Among the top legislative priorities for the government for the upcoming fiscal year is the upgrading of the Firearms (Prohibition, Restriction and Regulatio) Act, which took effect in November 2022, providing tougher punishments for gun-related crimes.

 

Custos of Kingston Steadman Fuller, who delivered the Throne Speech on Thursday on behalf of Governor General Sir Patrick Allen, said the upgrades will facilitate persons pleading guilty. 

 

"For the 2025-2026 year, legislative priorities include updates to the Firearm Act to include a framework for plea negotiations, among other things. This is consequent to the effectiveness of the new mandatory minimum penalty, which has increased the level of interest among accused persons in entering guilty pleas," he announced. 

 

Responding to the announcement, Opposition Leader Mark Golding said the government created the problem that it is now attempting to fix. 

 

"I was very clear that it was going to create a big problem in the court system, and that's exactly what has happened, because when people are facing a 15-year minimum sentence for possession of a firearm, regardless of the circumstances, there is absolutely no incentive to do anything other than go to trial and try and win the case."

 

He said the opposition, when it was last in power, introduced legislation in 2015 that allowed people to seek a discount on sentences by pleading guilty as early as possible in the court proceeding. 

 

"That was a very successful measure in reducing the backlog of criminal cases in the gun court and in the parish courts. [But] this legislation has basically put a block on that. They realise that it's untenable, so that is why they're seeking to amend it. We don't know exactly what they're trying to do. It is quite clear that what they've done is having a deleterious effect on the court system and has to be fixed," he asserted.