The Editor, Sir:

With the Jamaican society witnessing an average of 1,500 murders over the last several years, I think that the time has come for the gun laws to be changed very urgently for law-abiding citizens to be able to own guns very easily.

It is very ironic that the outlaws and criminals can gain such easy access to guns, while the decent citizens are left to the mercy of those hoodlums and the state's bureaucracy from owning firearms.

No laws have stopped the criminals from getting guns into the country and nothing has stopped them from using them illegally to maim or kill thousands of our citizens.

I am quite sure that there will be a howl of protest against my proposal. I am sure that some people will start making the case that every family quarrel will result in the use of a gun, and others will say that the gun will replace the cutlass in domestic disputes.

The fact is that there are thousands of licensed firearm holders and other members of the security forces who have guns at home, and that has not resulted in any significant use of the gun in such disputes.

There was a law passed in 1982 in Kennesaw, a city in Atlanta, which mandated that every head of a household must own a firearm and appropriate ammunition. The law, however, exempted conscientious objectors to firearms, felons and persons with physical or mental disabilities.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution newspaper of February 20, 2007 reported that burglaries in that city had decreased significantly since the law was passed.

It is quite clear that the Jamaican authorities have, for many years, been unable to protect its citizens and it is high time that the people are allowed to protect themselves.

Every jack man for himself

We cannot wait to see if what the new administration and the new Police Commissioner do will stop the murders. In the meantime, it is every jack man for himself, and it would be a travesty of justice for another innocent man or woman to die at the hands of the gunmen without having an opportunity to match the attacker.

Law-abiding citizens who have a desire to protect themselves should organise into a powerful lobby group similar to the National Rifle Association in the United States and demand that the laws be changed expeditiously. I will be the first volunteer.

I am, etc.,

SHAWN JOHNSON

jamaicanshawn@yahoo.com

Mandeville

Via Go-Jamaica