Legal fraternity expecting clear timeline for amendments to Firearms Act

 

 

Members of the legal fraternity are looking forward to learning whether Justice Minister Delroy Chuck will give clear timelines for amendments to the controversial Firearm Act.

 

They staged a silent protest outside the Supreme Court in downtown Kingston on Wednesday, calling for urgent amendments to the Act.

 

A meeting is to be held Thursday at 2 o'clock to discuss the issue.  

 

President of the Jamaican Bar Association, Tenneshia Watkins, says judges should be allowed to consider the circumstances of each case and exercise discretion when making decisions.

 

She says that is among the issues to be discussed at the meeting. 

 

"I'll go to the meeting with my colleague and place the issues on the table. What we would love to hear is not that it is under review. It has been under review from it was put in existence in November of 2022. We looked at articles last week where Dr. Chang said that it was under review. That article was two years ago. So it cannot remain on the review without the benefit of some review and some changes. We want to hear timelines. We now want the outcome of the review and so that the changes that were requested will be part and parcel of a review," insisted M. Watkins, who was speaking Wednesday night on TVJ's All Angles.

 

In the meantime, President of the Jamaica Rifle Association, Dr. George Stewart, said lawmakers should not enact legislation that could turn ordinary Jamaicans into criminals.

 

He said the section of the Firearms Act relating to dealing in firearms needs revision. 

 

"So imagine you're a licensed firearm holder. You're allowed to have 50 rounds per year. You go to the store to purchase ammunition. Clearly, you're not going to go with an empty weapon. And you go there and the rounds are sold in a box of 50. So you have some. So you now have up to 50 plus whatever you took. If that amounts 20 rounds more than the 50, you have committed an offence. And the penalty for that offence is life imprisonment. The penalty is greater than that of somebody who is caught with a totally prohibited weapon. That's a serious concern for us," he explained.

 

Dr. Stewart was also a guest on All Angles.