BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC – The Belize government says an entire gun reform system is being considered as Opposition Leader Shyne Barrow called for a moratorium on issuing gun licenses amid claims that questionable characters have been getting gun licenses.
“We are in the process of introducing firstly to Cabinet and then by way of legislation an entire gun reform system. And so that is forthcoming and included in that has to be an audit. In terms of who will do that audit at this point, we don’t know yet, but I agree with you that that should be done,” said Home Affairs Minister Kareem Musa.
He also said that he has no problem with the audit being undertaken by an independent body outside of the police department.
“I have no problem with outside from civil society looking at it, but there has to be a level of confidentiality because it is an individual’s private personal business. But I agree having an independent look at it would be good.”
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, has also been speaking on the issue of gun licenses and having to revoke privileges given to at least two people.
He spoke of the case of one Marybeth Wade, where her document fraudulently ended up being signed and was revoked one month later. In the other case, the license was revoked after Williams said that the person in question got the gun license, and in 2023, and at his wedding ceremony this year, “I took out his gun and fired multiple shots in the air.
“I got the video of it, he was arrested and charged, went before the court, he pled guilty, the court confiscated his firearm, and I revoked the gun license,” he said.
Regarding Marybeth’s application, the top cop said it was not done by the officer whose name appeared as the vetting officer.
“I did not know that at that specific time when the license was approved. As I said before, someone who saw her with the gun knew the type of person she had informed me of she was, and based on that, I retrieved her file back. I looked at it again, and I could see why I approved the license cause the vetting was impeccable.
“I asked him to re-vet Marybeth, and he re-vetted her, and he sent the new vetting to me, which he did, and the vetting that he did mirror what he said about Marybeth and what other persons had said about her. Based on that, I told them to go and search her home, take away the gun, and I revoked the license,” Williams said.
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