After listening to the news reports, talk shows and finally reading the commentary on the recent sentencing of two young men for possession of unlicensed firearms I am left asking – 10 years, too long? Oh my goodness, where do I start? Death is longer.
Realistically, what do you suppose those young men would have eventually done with those guns? Simple target practice far out in the bushes away from people and just for the fun of it? Or perhaps hold up a bank and shoot some innocent security guard.
My money’s on the latter.
Do we really want to have our government review the 2005 law amendment in favour of lighter sentencing? I thought the point of jail time was to promote deterrence from the crime should any other wayward youth consider the same actions.
The fact that the boys did not licence them in the first place (or maybe couldn’t) shows that their intentions were less than noble.
As I understand it, the last case could possibly have begged more investigation given the circumstances – but at the same time – it only takes one incident to change someone’s life forever.
The person in question held the gun for a number of days before turning it over to the police. What was the delay? To show off to some friends?
Was he considering what he could do with it or did he realize that it was wrong to have and it would be in the best interests of everyone for the authorities to have possession? Who knows…and what does it matter?
We have seen too many people die at the wrong end of a barrel in the hand of someone who was not licensed to hold it. Suppose something terrible – even an accident – had occurred in that three-day window of time…! Would 10 years seem too much…or too little?
Had this turned out differently we’d be singing a new tune – it would sound more like 10 years is too little.
We got lucky this time – the guns were found and taken and the boys holding them were punished. Your child/parent/sister/brother did not die – this time. The law is working and we should not tamper with it.
The boys learned a sad but important lesson – obey the law and nobody gets hurt.
It is about time that the law work for us. I, for one, am glad that our government had the foresight on this issue to nip a very severe offence in the bud before it took over our country. Do you read about the chaos and horrors in certain other close Caribbean islands where gun control is non-existent?
We see all too often where issues are ignored or left to fester and things go horribly wrong.
Everyone gets blamed for the downhill spiral – mostly the government!
Well, acknowledge that they took a stand, though strict and harsh, and stand behind them on this one.
This isn’t a light offence – it has the potential to reap havoc in our community. Lax laws open the way for all kinds of heinous crimes.
We need to enforce this one.
No, 10 years is not too long. I feel sorrow for the loss of freedom that these boys will face – but it is nothing compared to the loss of life that could have resulted from a serious lack of judgment.
That is so final – there is no coming back; it’s over. These boys have a chance to learn a lesson and live to breathe another day.
There are so many scenarios that we could explore had things turned out differently.
We need to keep this in mind before rashly pushing for a law change just because this involved two young men in the prime of life with so much to look forward to.
Would we feel differently if they were in their 30s?
Would we feel even more differently if they killed someone with those guns regardless of age – would we want stiffer penalties?
The word unlicensed indicates unregistered, unreported, unknown, and irresponsible.
I know people who are registered gun owners.
They are very responsible about their weapons and their friends and family KNOW about their weapons. There is a rare…no, non-existent chance that someone will stumble upon an unsecured gun in their homes.
They are trained and educated – as required by law – to own, operate and store these guns.
Someone with an unregistered gun is unknown to the authorities and therefore not subject to this kind of education.
The papers indicated that the man charged in the last case had a one-year-old child. What dangers lay in that home if he kept the loaded gun under his pillow or in a drawer? A curious child does not understand the harm in that.
As severe as the sentencing may seem now, I personally think that it is just and necessary. These boys had no business with these firearms and their incarceration will hopefully deter other youths from trying to pull the same stunts.
Our islands are better off adhering to stricter laws than trying to do damage control later for ignoring serious issues with potential consequences. If either of my boys were caught I would support this the same way – prevention is better than cure!
Kudos to the government and I hope that you will not be swayed to change this one.
C. Rivers
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