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Issuance of Firearm License being abused
– Govt. and Opposition agree on need for urgent review of procedure for issuing license
Leader of the political opposition faction A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) David Granger, is calling for the urgent review of the procedure which allows for the issuance of licenses for firearm holders.
David Granger
This call was also supported by Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee, who disclosed similar sentiments at a recent ceremony, held at the Tactical Services Unit at Eve Leary, Georgetown.
Granger explained that, “The situation that exists in Guyana is that there are concessions granted to persons who fall into certain categories, like those persons living in the interior. They would use weapons for the purpose of hunting but it is my strong belief that the process for the issuance of licenses for firearm holders is one that should be monitored.”
“In fact we need a more efficient force. Its personal capacity needs to be strengthened in terms of equipment for proper border patrols. The situation that exists in Guyana as it relates to the amount of crimes that occur with firearms suggests that if the Force was equipped enough to keep the population safe there would not be such a great need to consider the widespread issuance of firearms and I think the issuance is being abused. I would also make the call for there to be more control where this is concerned.”
“There needs to be a serious control on this procedure because once people are issued these licenses then some will feel the need to settle scores, and use it in other destructive ways as in the case with the Middle Street shooting with the gold miner Deryck Kanhai,” he added
“While the recent receipt of two pieces of machinery for the destruction of obsolete firearms so as to prevent them from entering criminal networks can be applauded, we must address an issue that is going to determine how effective this equipment will be; that is simply, lack of resources. It is here again I wish to reinforce my position that when it comes to looking at the bigger picture—trafficking in arms, then our porous borders is also a subject to be addressed and how we treat our limited resources in this regard is also important,” explained the APNU Leader.
He reiterated, “We need to strengthen the police force. If you look at the rate of seizures of weapons per year you would note that it is quite clear that a lot of the illegal weapons remain unseized and by reinforcing our human resources in the Police Force there would be a more vigorous approach towards clamping down on trafficking in arms.”
Moreover, at the recent handing over ceremony of the hydraulics shears and the burning tank to Guyana, the Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Clement Rohee also addressed the issue to which Granger highlighted.
“Stolen firearms usually find themselves on the street when in fact it should be in safe custody of the person to which it was licensed or with the police or destroyed, but it does not happen like that. We have so many cases of firearms being used in crimes and other malicious attempts and it poses a problem for us but we have to look at this matter in an integrated way. While we welcome and appreciate the equipment, we ought to look at this activity as part and parcel of a wider engagement and obligation to the security sector.”
The Member of Parliament added, “with reference to Guyana’s extensive borders it is unfortunate that some persons use these borders to traffic drugs and firearms so that they can get them into our jurisdiction and our law enforcement officers are tasked with the responsibility of stemming the flow. But the task is monumental… firearms don’t move by themselves. People move these weapons and therefore it is important to keep an eye on the right ball and that ball is the human traffickers…It is here I wish to return to the integrated approach… we need greater institutional controls in the sense that we need to keep examining the regulations pertaining to the issuance of firearms and keep strengthening the internal institutional arrangements with respect to the distribution and utilization of firearms after they are approved, and we need to review procedures for issuance of licenses. So if this approach is taken with respect to the movement both of legal and illegal firearms we would be able to look at the bigger picture in a much more effective way.”
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