The problem of personal security is real in Jamaica.
It is quite understandable, therefore, that may people, in several walks of life, believe that they need to own guns for their protection. Indeed, gun ownership, legal and illegal, is high in Jamaica.

We all know only too well the consequence of this fact - mostly with regard to the guns that are in the hands of persons who acquire them illegally. The vast majority of the 1,300 homicides in Jamaica so far this year were committed with guns.

While we do not have the benefit of a full study, this newspaper, like a growing number of Jamaicans, is increasingly concerned, too, about those guns that are owned by persons who have valid permits to carry them. For the anecdotal evidence suggests that far too many licensed firearm holders often do not use their weapons responsibly, making the gun their first point of reference in the settlement of any dispute.

Indeed, over the years there have been many cases of persons with licensed firearms engaging in gunfights in clubs and car parks, sometimes with deadly consequences to themselves and others, including persons who are not involved in their fracas.

There are the instances, too, of the shoot-first-determine-the-issue-later approach by gun owners. Even police officers have been allegedly shot in such circumstances.
It is against this backdrop that we have in the past asked for a full review of the process for awarding gun permits and find ourselves in sympathy with the emerging suggestions for psychological evaluation of persons who apply to own guns.

We do not believe this will, of itself, eliminate the irresponsible use of firearms in Jamaica. It is unlikely that any test would be so thorough as to develop a full profile of the prospective gun user.

But it is possible, we believe, to subject applicants to some basic evaluations which are likely to give the authorities some indication of how such persons might respond in circumstances of stress and whether their guns will come into the play at the merest provocation or assumed insult.

Such evaluations would not, we expect, substitute for the normal background checks by the police, but would be conducted by professional psychologists and given an appropriate weighting in the mix of things to be used in assessing whether someone is fit and proper to be issued with a gun licence.

Indeed, this should be part of the reforms that come with the establishment of the promised new independent agency that is to be responsible for the issuance of gun licences as part of the government's effort to eliminate this as a source of corruption in the police force.

There will be many people who will find offence at our suggestion, and are likely to argue that such measures will put citizens at a disadvantage against the criminal gunman.

That is hardly the case, for the criminal and illegal gun owners have their weapons anyway. The vast majority of Jamaicans do not own guns.

What we would wish to do is ensure that those persons who the state says are allowed to carry guns can be expected, with a degree of reasonableness, to use them with responsibility and not endanger the rest of us.

For it is becoming all too clear that the gun is a symbol of empowerment for many people - and not just those who carry them illegally - and bit by bit, the technology has greatly enhanced the capacity for violence in Jamaica.

On a related issue, it has been more than two years since Police Commissioner Francis Forbes ordered a full review of the issuing of gun licences in the constabulary in the face of complaints about corruption.

At one stage, the gun licences were revoked for several persons with criminal records and who have shady characters.

Mr Forbes has not reported on the matter.
We invite him to speak now.

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