Lawmakers divided on 15-year minimum for gun possession

THERE WILL be no consensus among legislators on the 15-year mandatory minimum jail time for possession of a prohibited weapon under the Firearms Prohibition Restriction and Regulation Act, 2022, as three opposition lawmakers firmly declared objection to the Government’s policy position aimed at tackling out-of-control gun crimes.

Opposition Senator Donna Scott-Mottley argued Thursday that there was no evidence to show that mandatory terms present a deterrent. (The new legislation being debated proposes life sentences for illegal weapon possession.)

A request by Scott-Mottley for data on the deterrent influence of mandatory sentences has not been provided to the committee.

“In my own reading what I have seen is that it is not useful and in fact increases recidivism, so if there is data that is compelling to show that the objectives can be met, I would really like to be in possession of it,” she said.

“If I can be shown the data that says ‘yes’ this is what has worked, that would make me reassess my position.”

Her colleague senator, Peter Bunting, acquiesced, contending that the deliberations on the proposed statute should be guided by data and not “purely on emotion and the pressure that an administration has to be seen to be doing something”.

At least one government legislator, Hanover Western Member of Parliament Tamika Davis, also expressed reservation about mandatory terms during a lively debate on Thursday of the joint select committee reviewing the Firearms Prohibition Restriction and Regulation Act, 2022.

However, Dr Horace Chang, committee chairman and minister of national security, was unmoved on his view that enough data were available to show that the gun was the weapon of choice in hundreds of murders each year.

He was insistent that mandatory minimum jail times should be applied when persons are found with a firearm.

St Catherine Southern MP Fitz Jackson said the data on the use of firearms to commit high levels of crime were not in dispute. However, he said that the Government should provide statistics to show that the use of mandatory minimum terms contributed to a reduction in “appalling” serious crime.

Chang received strong support from Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Marlene Malahoo Forte.

She argued that the administration “takes a view that the possession provides the foundation for all other gun offences to take place because if you don’t have it, you can’t possess it, you can’t use it ... ”.