THE House of Representatives Tuesday approved the 17 amendments to the Firearms Bill which were made by the Senate on Friday, but not before former National Security Minister Robert Montague called for the reinstatement of the provision that allows applicants to appeal to the portfolio minister.

Montague noted that, as obtains, now appeals from persons who are displeased with the board’s decision will go to the review panel of the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA), then return to the same board which made the original decision.

Speaking at Tuesday’s sitting of the House, Montague stressed that it was not too late to amend the relevant section. “I am still asking that the ordinary citizen should have the right to appeal to his or her minister in these matters,” the St Mary Western Member of Parliament said.

Furthermore, he said Section 58 of the Act should also be amended to place a time limit on the processing of applications for firearms licences. “Just as [there is] a time limit on the appeal, there ought to be a time on the processing of the application,” he said.

That suggestion was previously raised during the joint select committee’s deliberations on the Firearms (Prohibition, Restriction and Regulation) Act 2022, and has been shot down by the head of the FLA, Shane Dalling, who said this kind of time limit arrangement is impractical, given the extent of background investigations the authority has to conduct to determine whether to grant a licence.

Upon an appeal of a decision with which a person feels aggrieved, the review panel has the authority, after hearing the parties, to confirm the decision of the board; refer the matter back to the board for a fresh decision, taking into consideration further information or inquires to be made in the circumstances of the case; or make another decision as it sees fit. The panel has 180 days after the appeal is made, to notify the board and the appellant.

At the same time, the third schedule of the Bill sets out that where the board makes a decision concerning any firearm authorisation, any reconsideration of that decision by the board may only be made with the participation of the members present and voting, as were present and voting on the original decision.

The legislation also gives the board some level of immunity from prosecution or liability, according to the provisions in 14 of the third schedule, that “No action, suit, prosecution or other proceedings shall be brought or instituted personally against any member of the board in respect of any act done bona fide in pursuance or execution or intended execution of the board’s functions under this Act or any other enactment”.

Also, it outlines that, “where any member of the board is exempt from liability by reason only of the provisions of this paragraph, the FLA will be held liable to the extent that it would be if the board member were an employee or agent of the authority,” according to the law.

National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang said given the circumstances surrounding the operations of the FLA in recent years, it was best to give the law time to work before looking to make any other changes.

“It is designed to protect the elected directorate, given the high levels of accusations [and] inference thrown at various ministers who have been there oftentimes without any kind of proof. The discretion of the minister would become a stick to beat upon the integrity of those individuals. At the end of the five-year period, as the whole approach of the management of the illegal industry settles, we can look at issues that can be changed and restored to the more traditional means of dealing with firearms applications,” he said.

The parliamentary process for the passage of the Bill is now complete.