Cool it on gun talk

OPPOSITION Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar set a disappointing tone on Monday as she tackled the serious issue of crime. Promising easier access to firearms for law-abiding citizens, as well as once more making a case for a stand-your-ground law, she said a UNC government will empower people to respond directly to home invasions.

“When the criminals invade your home, you can draw your licensed firearm and light them up,” she promised supporters gathered in Chaguanas. “Empty the whole clip. Empty it. Light them up. Reload. We have to fight fire with fire.”

The UNC leader clearly wants to appear tough on crime. But it is one thing to call for legal reform and to advocate greater access to guns, it is another thing to use inflammatory rhetoric that gives licence to people tempted to engage in mortal combat.

We are already enduring a situation in which criminals are turning the country into a wild wild west. We do not need politicians to add to this through crass soundbites that erase the complexities, ethical and legal, involved in the response to violence.

The current spate of home invasions demands the examination of three separate issues. The first is the question of whether there should be legislative reform to introduce a special offence of home invasion, something the UNC has called for.

The second is the issue of whether the granting of firearms licences should be liberalised and to what degree.

The third issue is the question of the legal standard that should apply in relation to people who feel the need to use deadly force to stand their ground.

All these issues are incredibly complex and the merits of each should be examined separately.

This newspaper, along with many others, has already suggested stand-your-ground laws do more harm than good.

And several prominent voices, such as former acting commissioner of police Stephen Williams, have warned about the dangers of making more guns available – whether on the streets or in houses.

On the other hand, the proposal for a special home invasion offence is one that is overdue. Legislators should swiftly work towards the necessary framework needed to implement such a move.

But when crudely lumped together, these proposals open the door to not only the possible proliferation of gun owners, but also of the proliferation of people mentally unfettered by the usual legal guardrails relating to a threat being imminent and a response proportionate.

This is a recipe for vigilantism, abuse and the sanctioning of the Old Testament idea of an eye for an eye. Indeed, Exodus was invoked by Ms Persad-Bissessar on Monday.

We caution the UNC leader, as well as all politicians tempted to deploy overly heated rhetoric on crime, to cool it.