Fighting firearms with firearms

THE ALMOST fourfold increase in firearms licences occasions a re-examination of the State’s policy with regard to guns and gun crime.

Under the Firearms Act, it is within the discretion of a commissioner of police to grant such licences under such terms and conditions as he or she sees fit.

There is no limit to how many licences may be issued, though the law prohibits certain classes of dangerous weapons from being issued to civilians.

However, it has been reported that while the State has in the past issued about 400 gun licences per year, under the three-year tenure of Gary Griffith, approximately 5,000 licences were issued, 100 of which were granted to civilians to buy semi-automatic assault weapons.

Many people clearly have a strong desire to own weapons, given that there have been about 50,000 applicants for licences, according to police figures.

While in a high-crime environment (and crime is down) some may feel having a gun supplies self-defence, security and comfort, it is equally true that the proliferation of weapons in the hands of civilians, whether sanctioned by the State or not, is cause for considerable unease.

No one doubts this country has a problem with gun crime, as we have been reminded this weekend.

It has long been surmised that part of the strategy in addressing crime involves countering the availability of illicit guns. Time and time again, legislators, in justifying harsh laws, have made links between firearms offences and felonies.

So it seems baffling that the State, through the office of the commissioner, would now sanction more guns, including especially dangerous models, in people’s hands.

The Police Service has argued that of the recent licences granted not one weapon authorised has been linked to any crime. But some might say this assertion is difficult to test, given our detection rate. And why should we wait around and take the chance on such guns being put to bad use?

There’s a lot that we don’t know about gun usage. But what we know for sure is that the number of guns is increasing. Privately-owned guns in TT moved from 30,000 to 43,000 between 2012 and 2017, according to estimates by the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey, even as the approvals seemed to remain constant.

Increasing the number of licences might actually have the positive effect of bringing more guns under the ambit of official state regulation. Under the law, a CoP can also vary the terms under which any citizen is allowed to carry a weapon.

But the legal questions raised in relation to automatic weapons need to be definitely addressed as a matter of public safety.

And stakeholders need to act with one accord. Otherwise, our country might simply find itself in a situation where it is simply fighting guns with more guns.