KINGSTON, Jamaica, November 17, More than 20 firearms have so far been handed over to the authorities under the two-week gun amnesty that ends at midnight on Saturday.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security Dr. Horace Chang said many of the firearms surrendered between the start of the amnesty on Saturday, November 5, and Tuesday, November 15, came from individuals who have not licensed the weapons for several years.
“There are many persons in Jamaica who might have inherited a firearm from their grandfather or father or acquired it by some other means, usually by legacy, or they might not have licensed the firearm for several years,” he said on Tuesday during a press conference at which Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced States of Public Emergency (SOEs) in several parishes and police divisions islandwide.
“So far, we have gone well over 20, largely from individuals who had firearms locked away in the safe. I am satisfied with that because we do not wish for any of those individuals to be caught in the new net we are setting out there for illegal firearms,” Minister Chang added.
The amnesty is being facilitated following the approval of the Firearms (Prohibition, Restriction, and Regulation) (Firearms Amnesty) Order 2022 by Parliament.
Chang has stressed that amnesty is the last opportunity for those who hold or are in possession of illegal firearms or ammunition to avoid significant sentences and forms an important milestone in Jamaica’s fight against illegal guns.
Breaches of the new Firearms (Prohibition, Restriction, and Regulation) Act, 2022, which is now in effect, will result in penalties ranging from 15 years to life imprisonment.
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