( L - R ) Chuck, Kidd-Deans, Anderson

PROPONENTS OF the right of individuals to bear arms have renewed their call for the Government to make the process of owning licensed firearms more accessible for law-abiding citizens.

Long-time supporters of the controversial issue, Delroy Chuck, speaker of the house and member of parliament for North East St Andrew, and former Jamaica Labour Party Senator Prudence Kidd-Deans have maintained their positions that the laws of the land should be amended to make it easier for sober, decent and law-abiding citizens to own firearms.

Defensive mechanism

According to Chuck, owning a licensed firearm is a form of preventative and defensive mecha-nism for citizens to ward off criminals who would try to invade their homes and in the process destroy both life and property.

Kidd-Deans told The Gleaner that she totally supports citizens being able to protect themselves because the Government cannot meet the security demands of the people.

Responding to some critics who believe that arming more people would fuel the crime rate, she said such an argument was mere "foolishness".

"An unarmed person is more likely to be killed than an armed person," she said, adding that criminals would be more cautious in approaching people who they know may be armed.

Although more people owning licensed firearms would not readily translate into a reduction in overall crime figures, Chuck said that it could reduce the number of hold-ups and invasion of private property.

Additionally, he said that if more people were armed, it could serve as a deterrent to criminals, as they would be more reluctant to carry out attacks if they know they might be met with gunfire.

However, legal officer at the Independent Jamaican Council for Human Rights, Nancy Anderson, said she totally disagrees with that argument.

"The only thing a gun can do is shoot and if you give a person a gun, they will shoot," she said.

Anderson said one way to address the problem of crime is to provide more resources to the police, inclusive of proper training and sharpen their investigative skills.

"Having more licensed firearm holders is not the solution," she asserted.