MSJ: Not everyone voted for stand-your-ground law

MOVEMENT for Social Justice (MSJ) leader David Abdulah is urging Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to have thorough consultations on her proposed legislation to make it easier for citizens to arm themselves and to introduce stand-your-ground legislation because, he says, not everyone in the country voted for it.

Speaking at a virtual media conference on June 1, Abdulah said, "She (Persad-Bissessar) said the people voted for this, and she has a mandate. Of course, yes, the UNC and its coalition of interests party won 26 seats, however, the vote count that they got was just about 30 per cent of the total electorate – about 350,000 out of over 1,000,000 registered electors – so about 30 per cent.

"So it means while the UNC and its coalition of interests got the majority of the votes of people who cast their vote, remember the vote count was low. The turnout was only 54 per cent. So it means the majority of the population did not come out in a positive affirmative way to vote for the government. And so going forward, the government needs to listen carefully to people."

Abdulah believes that when the bill goes before Parliament, there needs to be sufficient time for public comment to ensure the legislation had got it right, as it had the potential to change society's culture of violence.

"We have already the culture of violence by the criminal element and, therefore, we have to address how do we change that culture of violence that has developed and is being used by the criminal element – how do we change that or do we want to simply reinforce a culture of violence as there exists in the United States."

Speaking at a post-cabinet meeting on May 29, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said a committee was set up to develop stand-your-ground legislation based on those in Florida and other territories.

Abdulah described that revelation as disturbing.

"That is not a state that is progressive in many respects, and I will simply leave that there. That state has enacted legislation that is really quite backward. We just put a caution there."

Easier access to firearm user licenses (FULs) and stand-your-ground law amidst surging crime, like home invasions, was one of Persad-Bissessar's major campaign items.

However, it has also been one of the most heavily criticised since she first it during the 2023 local-government election campaign with her now famous "load up the 'matic" comment on a political platform. She has since continued to fiercely defend the position, even up to last week's briefing.

“If you are against stand-your-ground (laws), then you don’t have to stand your ground. If you don’t want a legal firearm, simply do not apply,” she said.

“I want to remind citizens that this is still a democracy and everyone is entitled to voicing their opinion in favour or not in favour, that is their right. Today, I am voicing mine."