Following today’s historic silent protest by Jamaica’s legal fraternity outside the Supreme Court, Opposition Spokesperson on Justice, Miss Zuleika Jess, MP, announced that the Opposition has officially mounted a legislative offensive to force immediate amendments to the flawed Firearms (Prohibition, Restriction and Regulation) Act.

In a decisive move to break the Government’s defence of the law, MP Jess yesterday officially submitted a formal Notice of Questions for Oral Answer to the Clerk of the Houses of Parliament, summoning Minister of Justice Delroy Chuck to provide answers regarding the operational chaos and injustices caused by this flawed legislation.

The Opposition stands in absolute, unwavering solidarity with the attorneys, advocates, and jurists who took to the streets today. Their silent demonstration exposes a deep, systemic crisis: the complete stripping away of judicial discretion and the imposition of a merciless 15-year mandatory minimum sentence. This statutory rigidity has completely paralysed the plea-bargaining process, removing any legal incentive for defendants to plead guilty and risks drowning the Gun Court in an unmanageable trial backlog.

We are seeing state-sanctioned injustice where the law forces the destruction of innocent lives instead of targeting violent criminals." MP Jess highlighted two egregious examples of absurdity within the current Act that the Opposition is targeting for immediate revision:

• The Victimisation of Licensed Holders: Law-abiding, licensed firearm holders who suffer a simple oversight and miss a regulatory renewal deadline are instantly exposed to risk of a mandatory 15 year minimum sentence, thereby weaponising the law against innocent citizens alongside violent felons.
• The Absurdity of Imitation Firearms: Under the strict letter of the Act, a young music producer using a plastic toy gun as a prop on a video set is subjected to the exact same mandatory 15 year minimum sentence as a criminal possessing a loaded, lethal automatic weapon. Judges are legally forbidden from using common sense because their hands are completely tied.

The parliamentary questions filed by the Opposition will force Minister Chuck to provide a clear timeline for previously promised amendments to the Act.

The Opposition vows to carry the legal fraternity’s fight directly into the halls of Parliament. We will deploy every constitutional and legislative mechanism available to us, and we will not relent until judicial discretion is fully restored and a fair, equitable framework is secured for the people of Jamaica.