‘Poverty is no excuse’: Holness warns against criticism of new Firearms Bill
/ Our Today
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Prime Minister Andrew Holness says tougher measures are needed to punish illegal firearm holders as crime and violence remains affixed in the public consciousness.
Holness, speaking yesterday (September 14) at the passing out parade for over 300 new cops joining the ranks of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), warned against “destructive” criticisms of the Firearm Bill, which is to be debated in the Senate tomorrow.
The legislation was passed on Tuesday in the House of Representatives.
“Poverty is no excuse for seeking to have and using an illegal firearm. For these young recruits who have come here today to offer their lives—and who will have to face that young man outside with the gun—we cannot be ambivalent and duplicitous,” he said during his keynote address at the National Police College of Jamaica (NPCJ) in Twickenham Park, St Catherine.
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