Criminalise gun couriers

Senior attorney Peter Champagnie, KC — who has been strident about the shortcomings of the 2022 Firearms Act since inception — on Monday welcomed amendments proposed by the National Security Council but is urging criminalisation of couriers or shippers who import illegal firearms into the country by virtue of lax inspection protocols. His call comes in the wake of Sunday’s announcement by the Office of the Cabinet that the National Security Council (NSC) has recommended that individuals convicted of illegal possession of a firearm should now face a new minimum mandatory sentence of 20 years imprisonment instead of the current 15-year minimum.

The NSC also proposed that adults who groom children to use, store, transport, or acquire illegal guns will face a new criminal offence under the pending amendments to the Act “to address the gap whereby gangs seek to recruit and enlist minors in the commission of gun crimes”. Additionally, the NSC agreed that further consideration should be given to how cases involving children found with illegal firearms are handled and assured that concerns raised regarding imitation firearms will be “clearly addressed to distinguish between toy guns and guns designed to realistically imitate a weapon”. The council also said the review would include concerns surrounding firearms with expired licences. In the meantime, however, it said before the new provisions take effect, the Government will provide a gun amnesty and cash buy-back programme, giving anyone holding an illegal gun the opportunity to surrender it. The Ministry of National Security and Peace has been directed to have the draft legislation ready by the end of November 2026 for wider consultations. On Monday, Champagnie, in an interview with the Jamaica Observer , applauded the…