Gov’t to amend gun law, ease penalties for imitation firearms

Jamaica’s gun law is to be amended this year to provide lesser penalties for possession of an imitation gun.

The announcement by Minister of National Security and Peace Dr Horace Chang on Wednesday comes amid public criticisms that the law leaves little or no room for a judge to exercise discretion, especially in cases involving children or clear artistic or educational use.

Under the Firearms (Prohibition, Restriction and Regulation) Act, 2022, possession of a fake or imitation firearm carries the same mandatory 15-year prison sentence as possession of a real firearm.

The law defines an imitation firearm broadly to include anything that has the appearance of a gun, regardless of whether it can discharge a bullet.

Speaking at the opening of the Sectoral Debate in Parliament on Tuesday, Chang announced that new amendments to strengthen the legislation will be tabled in the House of Representatives “in short order”.

He explained during an interview with The Gleaner following the weekly post-Cabinet press conference on Wednesday that the intention is to impose lighter sanctions for possession of an imitation firearm by moving it to another section of the legislation.

Chang, who is also deputy prime minister, declined further comment, saying the details are still being worked out.

Citing the country’s murder rate at the time, he noted during the post-Cabinet press conference that the mood in the society when the 2022 law was being crafted was “anything that looks like a gun must be out of the space”.

Chang acknowledged, however, that Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness asked that the law be changed amid concerns raised by the legal fraternity.

“Legislation is drafted by drafters and by the policy guidelines we issue and sometimes circumstances change quite dramatically and you have to go back and revise the law,” he told journalists.

“There are a couple of things in there we have to change and that’s what we are doing. It’s not a major change.”

Criminal defence attorney Kimberli Whittaker noted, during an interview with The Gleaner last December, that while imitation firearms can be used to intimidate, they cannot cause physical harm and should not be treated the same as real guns under the law.

“A toy gun, a prop weapon used in film or theatre, or even a crafted replica can fall under the same category as a real, functioning firearm,” Whittaker noted.

“An imitation firearm cannot discharge bullets. It cannot wound or kill. While it can be used to intimidate, the fundamental difference between a real gun and a fake one should not be ignored in law. Treating both as identical erodes the principle of proportionality in sentencing,” she argued at the time.

- Livern Barrett

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