St Kitts and Nevis government pass amended firearms law

St Kitts and Nevis have passed the Firearms Amendment Bill 2017 after intense debate across the house.

Today was the third reading before it was passed into law.

Concluding the debate, Prime Minister Timothy Harris – who is also minister of national security – said the bill had one “substantive provision to amend the law to increase the penalty for illegal possession and use of firearms”.

“It is an amendment that was highly recommended by the high command of the security forces. They saw it and we agreed. It was a critical tool in the fight against crime,” he added.

“It was never considered to be the linchpin in our fight against crime.

“Indeed, in my own presentation, it was very clearly stated that this was just one element as part of a broad and comprehensive response that we had undertaken to restore and to buttress public safety and security in this our beloved country.”

Support for justice system

Senator Akilah Byron-Nisbett, speaking yesterday, said she believes that the idea of bringing into force a bill of this nature is testament to the government’s hard work in ensuring that citizens and residents are safe.

[caption id="attachment_3018" align="alignright" width="350"] Akilah Byron-Nisbett,[/caption]

“This is government at work ensuring that at the legislative level we give support to the justice system so as to be certain that they are able to effectively carry out their mandate of protecting the citizens of our country with strong and firm convictions,” she said.

“It should be noted, however, that the legislative response is but one part of the collective effort necessary to fight and prevent crime and most specifically that of violent gun-related crime.

“Beyond legislation there are other factors that contribute to crime fighting effort. Component number one of this effort Mr. Speaker is for us to ensure that our law enforcement agencies are equipped with the necessary support and resources required for their efforts.”

The opposition St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party said during the debates that it had no “serious objections” to the bill, though Senator Nigel Carty suggested that increased penalties are not all that needs to be done.

“Dealing with the issue of crime can hardly ever be dealt with solely as a matter of increasing penalties,” the former minister of education and information said.

[caption id="attachment_2079" align="aligncenter" width="501"] SKNLP Senator Nigel Carty.[/caption]

“I’m not against that. Put it to 20 years, 15 years, if you want to bring it from 20 to 15, it’s okay; wherever you want to go, you go.

“You could put it to 30, you could put it to 100, it really doesn’t matter, because in my view and as the studies have revealed, that in and of itself will not lead an abating of crime in the country.”

But on day one of the debates, the prime minister said that his presentation of plans “outlined tangible evidence to reveal to all and sundry that our plan was indeed holistic”.