Take gun licence page from Jamaica

There is no acknowledgement of receipt of applications, making one wonder if they were received at all. The criminals however have guns to enter your home or shoot you in the street and they know you cannot protect yourself. With the security forces having failed the populace, businessmen are frustrated with numerous complaints about the process.

However, I would like to focus on the sport of competitive and Olympic shooting for which a FUL is required. There are shooting clubs in TT equipped to train youngsters properly in the art of safely handling firearms and in marksmanship, monitored by trained coaches.

The Firearms Act should make provision to entertain teenage and other applicants and grant licences for target purposes under the supervision of an approved firearms training institution.

At Bisley in the UK, on the ranges of the National Rifle Association where I have been participating annually for the last 37 years, the best marksmen are usually teenagers. The Olympic marksmen are all young people who started in the sport as teens.

It is well known that to be really good in any sport one has to take it up at an early stage.

Why not shooting? In the past TT has produced excellent international shooters but that has waned simply because of the law and the unusually long wait for FULs. The sport is dying.

It is time we take a tip from Jamaica where, ten years ago, the then government decided that the overworked police should no longer have the burden of being the responsible agent for the issuing of firearms to the civilian population of the country. This decision was arrived at for a number of reasons, including: 1. The inordinately long time it took for licences to be granted. A person could be waiting for two-three years to even commence the process.

2. The lack of firearm safety and training offered to prospective firearm owners.

3. Follow-up action with owners to ensure they remain current with their use and handling of their firearms.

4. The minimum understanding of the laws and use of force associated with carrying a firearm.

5. The corruption involved in the granting of licences. Rumours abounded of people of questionable references paying to get licences.

The Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA) came into being. This is a civilian body led by an executive director with a board and staffing at all levels of the spectrum of firearm ownership. The only thing that remains in the hands of the police is clearance in respect of criminal history.

The FLA fingerprints applicants and prints are forwarded to the police.

Once the all-clear is given by the police the process of ownership commences. This process involves applicants attending a course given by an authorised FLA instructor.

This will involve complete use of the firearm to include keep and carry, drawing and firing, understanding of responsibilities etc.

Once a person passes this the FLA will complete the process. The person will also be required to have a secure safe at their premises.

The FLA will inspect the property.

The entire process should be completed in three-six months maximum and the person will be retested every three years which has to be carried out before the licence is renewed.

The newly appointed Firearms Appeal Board here is certainly a move in the right direction but I note that appeals can only be made after two years and a new application made before it can act. I would therefore encourage the relevant authorities to take a page from Jamaica and set up a firearm licensing authority of TT .

Norris Gomez president TT Pistol & Rifle Federation