Florida-styled “stand your ground” legislation will soon become basic law in Trinidad and Tobago after both parliamentary houses approved the legislation following hours of contentious weekend debate.
For the administration of eight-month Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar, the law stems from her strident belief that allowing licensed firearm holders the legal protection to kill, main or wound heartless home invaders will help reduce felony crime, especially deadly home invasions.
“It is a good piece of law for protection for citizens,” she told reporters, adding that a follow-up bill to make gun permits easier “will come soon. The draft is being worked on.” Titular President Christine Kangaloo is expected to sign the bill, turning it into law or an act of parliament this week. “Promise made. Promise kept,” the PM said.
The federation is the first country in the 15-member Caribbean Community to enact such a law. None of the others have signaled any intention to follow Trinidad’s lead amid fears that deadly, reckless acts may occur.
PM Persad Bissessar and her cabinet have embraced the controversial US military attacks on vessels in waters near Trinidad and Venezuela, while opposition and civil society commentators warn about unnecessarily placing the federation in the midst of superpower military activity. She has already been arguing that the local murder rate has since dropped significantly and so have incidents of human and narco trafficking, weapons smuggling and gangland activities.
During the debate in the senate or upper house, opposition representative and former foreign minister Amery Browne argued there were too many gaps to make the bill a comprehensive and safe one, as there are no provisions mandating training for homeowners. And once a weapon is used, police must seize it until investigations are complete, leaving the homeowner in a vulnerable position for a while yet.
Attorney General John Jeremie criticized the lack of opposition support for the bill, saying many of the opposition lawmakers are already firearm permit holders.
“Practically all” of the opposition MPs had “not one, not two, not three, but sometimes four and five firearms,” he said.
Key clauses of the bill indicate that a permit holder would be acting legally if there is an honest belief that the use of a gun is needed to prevent death, injury or sexual assault. They have no duty to retreat when threatened with deadly force, the bill states.
