The island nation of Jamaica has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the Caribbean, and one of the highest rates of violent crime to go along with them.
A conviction for illegally possessing a firearm comes with a mandatory prison sentence of 15 years, and this week a number of attorneys, including the head of the Jamaica Bar Association, staged a silent protest outside the country’s Supreme Court to demand reforms to the gun laws.
The attorneys are protesting what they describe as the injustice of the 15-year mandatory sentence for certain firearm offences, arguing that the provision removes the discretion of judges to consider the individual circumstances of each case when imposing a sentence.
The protest, organised by the Advocates’ Association of Jamaica and the Jamaican Bar Association, in collaboration with bar associations across the island, was held under the banner, ‘Enough Is Enough – Silent Protest: A Fairer Firearms Act for a Safer Jamaica’.
According to the organisers, the action is intended to draw attention to what they regard as shortcomings in the Firearms Act and its impact on justice, due process and the rule of law.
Justice Minister Delroy Chuck has said repeal or reform of the current laws is unlikely, and some public officials and police have credited the restrictive gun laws for a drop in violent crime and homicides that started in 2023.
The problem with that theory is that violent crime and homicides started declining in the United States around that same time as well, and without any major gun control legislation or new restrictions on lawful gun owners.
Like the United States, Jamaica has seen its homicide rate plummet over the past couple of years. In 2023 there were nearly 1,400 recorded homicides across the country. Last year there were 674 reported murders.
While the 2022 law targeted unlawful possession of a firearm, Jamaica has long had stringent regulations for legal gun ownership, including requiring license applicants to provide two character references from “approved professionals” like a doctor, attorney, police officer, justice of the peace, or member of the clergy. The applicant must have known their references for at least five years, which in itself is a pretty big barrier for many residents.
Then there’s the cost of applying for a license: $30,000 for new applicants. That’s nearly $200 U.S. dollars, and considering the average salary in the country is only about $15,500 USD per year, it’s a hefty price tag.
As of 2024 there were only about 44,000 licensed gun owners, though Jamaica’s population is nearly 3 million. That’s less than 2 percent of the population as a whole, compared to somewhere around 35 percent of the U.S. population.
Jamaica’s restrictive gun laws undoubtedly lead to some residents acquiring guns for personal protection without getting approval from the government beforehand. In 2017, the Small Arms Survey estimated there were about 246,000 firearms possessed by Jamaicans (both legally and illegally), while Jamaica recorded 52,445 registered firearms in 2021. That suggests that illegal gun ownership is far more common than lawful possession, and I’d say that’s a big problem.
I agree with the attorneys who are protesting the mandatory 15-year sentence for illegal gun possession, but any reform can’t stop with just a sentence reduction. Jamaica needs to make it easier to legally possess a gun as well. The demand is clearly there, but there doesn’t seem to be the political will to make those improvements.
Editor’s Note: Second Amendment groups across the country are doing everything they can to protect our right to keep and bear arms and prevent governments from imposing Jamaican-style gun control here at home.
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