‘I have to balance the scale’

JUSTICE Minister Delroy Chuck on Friday continued pushing back at critics who say the Firearms Prohibition, Restriction and Regulation Act, 2022 is too harsh on the accused and needs to be amended, arguing that he has to “balance the scale”.

Speaking at the ministry’s Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) policy development and estate planning forum at Sandals Dunn’s River in St Ann, Chuck charged that he cannot only take into consideration the expectations of the accused but those of the victims as well.

“That is why I say, when I met with the Bar Association yesterday [Thursday] I told them, ‘Yes, we will look at those exceptional cases — we will look at imitation firearms, we will look at where the gun was not in play when it was found.’ But what about those cases where a man is caught having fired, having robbed, having raped? You think it is easy for a woman who has to surrender herself because a gun is at her head?” he said.