In Jamaica
I was in Jamaica a few years back. Had a good time. I did notice that the areas where we tourists went usually had a bunch of guys in uniforms (uniforms with shorts, mind you) who walked around carrying M-16s. They were standing in front of casinos, bars, and stuff. The cab drivers and other folks said to stay in those areas as the rest of the place was rather unsafe. Anyway, I bring this up because:
No guns for you!
Firearm Licensing Authority boss rejects calls to arm the nation
CHAIRMAN of the Firearms Licensing Authority Errol Strong has rejected calls from gun rights lobbyists and members of the public who have been clamouring for Government to relax legislation to allow all law-abiding citizens easier access to owning firearms.
According to Strong, with Jamaica’s high propensity for violence, the move could backfire with devastating results.
So, strict gun control and a propensity for violence? Interesting correlation. And:
Strong got the backing of a woman who just this week lost her mother and her three children in a brutal arson/gun attack in the deep rural Jamaican community of Land Top in St Thomas.
Looks like the violent people already have guns. And we leave with:
“In the context of the Jamaican experience, the right for everybody to own a gun could have profound consequences. Quite often attacks on licensed firearm holders and the police are to get the guns,” Strong told the Observer.
Again, good guys cannot have them because bad guys want them. Ok, then.
January 30th, 2009 at 10:52 am
My wife and I have been going to Jamaica yearly for the past few years. Crime there is crazy. Not “running rampant” crazy, but the kind of crime.
Here in the US, when we see the news it’s “man with gun shoots someone in burglary attempt.”
In Jamaica, it’s “Mr. Jones’s head was found on his front porch this morning. Parts of his body were recovered in a banana field 30 miles away.” The “Shottas” (gangsters) there are no joke. They have a LONG way to go in addressing their crime problems.
An armed civilian populace would be a good start.
January 30th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
The good guys cannot have them because the bad guys already have them.
January 30th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
And the hippies say smoking weed doesn’t cause violence….
January 30th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Jamaica is a former British colony still following the ways of the mother country in that respect, much to its detriment.