Posted on 02/20/2017 4:30:03 AM PST by marktwain
Trinidad and Tobago is a small island nation just off the coast of Venezuela. In Trinidad and Tobago, legally obtaining a gun is not easy. The problem is that much power is vested in the Chief of Police, and there is a long tradition of delaying permits or ignoring appeals. In 2011, a reform was passed to create a Firearms Appeals Board. The appeals board was finally appointed in October of 2012. It had yet to meet as of February of 2013. From the guardian.co.tt:
Now, in 2017, four years later, a member of Parliament is suggesting that the permit process be taken away from the police altogether. From trinidadexpress.com:Getting a gun licence is not that easy. Chairman of the Firearms Appeal Board Israel Khan, SC, says there are over 500 appeals before the board. However, Khan said he was unaware how many were legitimate claims, as the board was yet to meet. The board was only appointed on October 18 last year, under the Firearms (Amendment) Act of 2011, to arbitrate on decisions by the Commissioner of Police not to issue licences to applicants.
Having a firearm, as was the case in Paramin (where a bar owner shot two criminal suspects last week) may enable a citizen to stay alive long enough to call for help from the police. This is not a call for all persons to be given firearms, but for those who qualify to be given a gun chance”.
Khan said a new Commission will undertake the necessary vetting process as prescribed under the Firearms Act to ensure that the applicant is capable to effectively and responsibility own a firearm.
(Excerpt) Read more at ammoland.com ...
Especially when your country is a stone’s throw from that disintegrating mess called Venezuela.
IT is a great idea if you are an oppressive government - but maybe Trinidad Tobago doesn’t want to behave like that?
Been there. The country is in 3 parts- Chinese. moslem and the rest. Crime is bad. you have to be very careful going cross country as you cross these ethnic areas. Giving guns to those nuts ain’t good.
That is sad.
I was hoping it would be like Barbados, which is a really great place.
The criminal "nuts" have always had guns and always will have them. This legislation is about making it easier for the law-abiding people to defend themselves. The more access that honest, peaceable citizens have to the means of self-defense, the better the society will be for everyone (but the criminals).
I was there last week, and didn’t get that at all. There were some distinctly Indian/Hindu areas. Didn’t see the Chinese. We did encounter just a few obvious muzzies. The rest were good happy people. We attended Catholic masses on two Sundays (one Trinidad, one Tobago) which were both well attended by enthusiastic locals.
We did not experience any crime, but were a bit wary in outlying areas.
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