Gun License Process Slammed as Burdensome

The Ministry of Home Affairs insists that its new firearms licensing system is a step toward transparency and accountability, but applicants and gun dealers are telling a very different story. Tonight, we will continue our coverage of challenges at the Firearm and Ammunition Control Board. From long delays to confusing requirements, frustration is mounting, especially among those who say their safety is on the line. News Five’s Paul Lopez has more in the following report.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

The Ministry of Home Affairs says it’s trying to make the gun license process more transparent, but not everyone’s convinced it’s working. Gun dealers and applicants are pushing back, saying the new system is causing more frustration than clarity. One police officer, who asked to remain anonymous, told News Five he applied for a firearm license six months ago. His reason? He wants to protect himself and his family. But after all that time, he’s still waiting. The Firearm and Ammunition Control Board hasn’t approved his application, and he’s not alone.

 

On the Phone: Police Officer, Gun License Applicant

“Trying to get a gun license is very hard. I try from last year December and keep and trying. When I call the Home Affairs office the lady always tells me that they have  limited amount of personnel doing the vetting. When I call again they say the board has not met. It is very frustrating.”

 

Last week, Abner Murillo, a gun dealer and owner of Lock N’ Loaded, asserted that the application process now requires two valid identification cards. A release from the board refuted that claim. But the officer we spoke with said otherwise.

 

On the phone: Police Officer

“It was very challenging, because I had to go way to Belmopan, took a day off, sign a book and then they told me I need another id. So I had to go and photocopy another ID at the print shop, came back, gave them the ID and that is how they took my application. I took in my drivers license and my social security.”

 

Paul Lopez

“Because they ask you for two ids?”

 

On the Phone: Police Officer

“Yes, two ids.”

 

Applicants are calling the new gun license ID process frustrating, especially for those traveling long distances to Belmopan, only to be turned away for not having multiple forms of ID. One police officer, still waiting six months for approval, says his job makes it critical to legally carry a firearm to protect his family. Meanwhile, Minister of Home Affairs Kareem Musa praised the Firearm and Ammunition Control Board during the budget debate, calling it a step toward greater accountability in the licensing process.

 

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs

“WE are ensuring that those who carry firearm, do so under lawful, well monitored and careful conditions. Mr. Speaker the work for the FACB is essential to national security. But just as important it is essential to national confidence. Through its establishment we are establishing order to an area long plagued by opacity and setting a bold new standard for arms control in the Caribbean.”

 

The new firearm licensing process may still be experiencing some growing pains. Despite repeated attempts, calls and messages to CEO Sharole Carr, who is also the chair of the board, have gone unanswered. However, the Firearm and Ammunition Control Board has issued two statements this week—one responding to claims by gun dealer Abner Murillo, and another notifying dealers that physical inventory checks will begin in June.

 

Abner Murillo, Owner, Lock N’ Loaded

“This is something that is a practice with the dealers. I accept it. I think it is necessary. You do have to do spot checks. You do have to do inventory checks. The Dangerous Good Unit did it previously. It is an excellent thing they are doing it. It is nothing new. However, the timing of it does seem, appear to be a little bit retaliatory, as other people have said. I cannot say for a fact that it is or not, but the timing. It is like, you want to speak up, hold yah. We wah come check unu and pressure unu a little bit. It might seem that way, but I don’t know for a fact.”

 

Murillo’s criticism of the process has been a mixed bag of support and disapproval. Some are of the view that the process has made it harder for responsible individuals to retain a license and that law abiding citizens should bear arms, while others say all guns need to be banned.

 

Abner Murillo

“You have to have a recommendation letter from a Justice of the Peace. The problem is there is a handful of Justice of the Peace in the country. People are getting turned around and turned around to get a JP letter because they are not comfortable giving recommendation letters for a firearm because of the nature of it. They are saying, I don’t want to give a recommendation letter and it comes back to me. Before you didn’t need a recommendation, you needed the firearm certificate, the training and a clean police record and the vetting.”

 

Once again, our requests for comment from the board chair went unanswered. Meanwhile, questions are growing about whether the board has the capacity, and the authority, to effectively manage its role as the country’s gun license watchdog. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.