Justice Minister maintains defence of Firearms Act

 

Despite mounting criticism of controversial provisions in the Firearms Act by members of the legal fraternity, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Delroy Chuck says the government cannot at this time amend the Firearms Act in relation to the mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years. 

 

Members of the legal fraternity have been calling for changes to the Firearms Act, arguing that judges should be allowed to consider the circumstances of individual cases and exercise discretion when imposing sentences. 

 

They had a meeting with Minister Chuck on Thursday to highlight what they claim are flaws in the legislation. 

 

But addressing an Alternative Dispute Resolution Policy Development and Estate Planning Forum on Friday, Mr. Chuck said he was not convinced by their arguments. He maintained that since the law has been in effect, there have been fewer gun cases going before the courts.

 

"When I met with the Bar Association yesterday, yes, we will look at those exceptional cases. Yes, we will look at imitation firearms. Yes, we will look where the gun was not in play when it was found. But what about those cases where the man is caught having fired, having robbed, having raped? And when you argue with the lawyers and say from 2022 I've quoted the reduction, they say, 'But there's no causation. There's no correlation.' There's coincidence though, and once there's coincidence and murders are going down, let murders go down some more. Let the coincidence continue," he asserted.

 

Mr. Chuck said he would have preferred if the law was increased to 30 years. He declared that the government is determined to impose tough laws to protect victims of gun crimes, adding that as Justice Minister, he has to balance the scale, looking at the expectations of both the victim and accused. 

 

"What about the victim who looked down the barrel of a gun? The trauma that that victim faced [lasts] not only at that point, not for the next 15 years, but for life. I don't know how many of you have had to look in the barrel of a gun. When me tell you, 40 years ago, I had to...and I've never forgotten that experience. And I'm sure that persons who have had to look down the barrel of a gun probably have the same experience. As Minister of Justice, I have to balance the scale. I cannot only look at what the accused expects. I have to look at what the victims expect, what the country wants," he insisted.

 

Following the outcome of Thursday's meeting, President of the Advocates Association, Tamika Harris, said members of the criminal bar will withdraw their services during the week of September 28 to underscore the urgent need to amend the legislation.

 

Meanwhile, Minister Chuck, on Friday made it clear that the administration is determined to dismantle criminal gangs on the island, which he said are "creating havoc in many communities". 

 

"[The police] have dismantled many gangs. At one time, they counted over 300 gangs, but there's still a lot more gangs to be dismantled. Jamaica will not make the progress and become the place it will be if we don't get rid of these gangs. You have to understand that gangs mean Jamaica, mean communities, mean you, no good. They're only concerned about themselves, and they're involved in extortion, scamming, robbery. But worse, because they have guns on them, they have the communities under their control," he reasoned.

 

He added that it is the mission of the government to continue its murder reduction strategy.

 

"In [20]23, murder went down 9 per cent; 24, 19 per cent; last year, 42 per cent; and so far this year, 24 per cent. But when you look at the statistics, you see that the parishes, the communities, that murder is still up and higher than last year is where you have the gangs operating. You have them in St. James, you have them in Manchester, you have them in St. Elizabeth, Kingston Central, Kingston Eastern. Those are the parishes where the murders have gone up since last year, because they are parishes that the gangs are operating in," said Mr. Chuck.