Tyrone Reid and Dionne Rose, Staff Reporters
( left - right ) CHUCK and WEBSTER
THE MINISTRY of Justice has said that it has no intention of legalising stun guns and pepper spray, as the self-defence devices are too deadly.
This is in response to a call by Opposition Spokesman on Justice, Delroy Chuck, for the legalisation of the devices. He was making his contribution to the 2005/06 Sectoral Debate in the House of representatives on Tuesday.
The Ministry, in a statement issued yesterday said it had already considered but decided against legalising the self-defence devices because they were deemed to be dangerous.
"The Ministry of Justice had sought the input of the relevant authorities and it was found that these items were unsafe and so the ministry had discontinued any development to legalise these instru-ments," the statement read.
Faith Webster, director of policy and research at the Bureau of Women's Affairs, said that her organisation endorses the enactment of any legislation that would "protect our women". However, she was reluctant to whole-heartedly throw her support behind the call made by Mr. Chuck.
Ms. Webster said a referendum among women and other women's groups plus investigations into the dangers associated with the stun gun and pepper spray are some prerequisites to her organisation's commitment to a stance on the matter.
"We will have to look into the matter and have a little dialogue before we could speak more definitely," she said.
Human rights group, Jamaicans For Justice (JFJ), was also coy in response to Chuck's proposal. "It has not been an issue raised for discussion, so I would not be able to make a comment at the moment," said a reserved Susan Goffe, chairperson for JFJ.
However, she revealed that the proposal might come up for discussion at the JFJ's meeting today.
On the other hand, Taitu Heron, Women's Media Watch representative, told The Gleaner that Mr. Chuck's suggestion has the unwavering support of her organisation. "I think we will definitely go for the pepper spray and stun gun, as it would enable us to defend ourselves rather than to react like a victim and throw up our hands and scream," she said boldly.
In his presentation Tuesday, Chuck said:
"The stun gun is used by law enforcement agencies in the United States. They don't kill, they disable, and there is no doubt that in extreme cases they may cause serious injury." However, Mr. Chuck argued that law-abiding citizens need protection.
"We cannot have a policeman or security guard at the elbow of our citizens and if we don't want to give them firearms, let us legitimise the use of pepper spray and stun guns so that these can assist in disabling criminal elements who prey on innocent, unfortunate women, children and householders of our country.".
Facts about pepper spray, stun gun
An electroshock gun or stun gun is a weapon used for subduing a person by administering an electric shock.
Pepper spray is a non-lethal chemical agent which is used in riot control, crowd control and personal self-defence, including defence against dogs. The active ingredient in pepper spray is capsaicin, which is a chemical derived from the fruit of plants in the Capiscum genus, including chiles.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia
