'People with guns don’t want to give them up' – Bishop Cline
“I believe that amnesty is one thing, but unfortunately, it has never yielded good results because the people who have their guns don’t want to give them up,“ he said.
Willingness to surrender guns questioned
Bishop Cline made the comments during the Thursday, March 24, 2022, edition of his My BVI radio show streamed live on Facebook. Ths discussions surrounded gun violence and crime in the VI.
Premier Andrew A. Fahie (R1) had recently announced that he was pushed by At-Large Representative, Hon Neville A. Smith (AL) to undertake the gun amnesty plan.
He said the plan was taken to the National Security Council and had been endorsed by the Governor and Deputy Premier with a roll-out announcement to come shortly from Commissioner of Police, Mark Collins.
Pointing to an alleged ineffectiveness of past gun amnesty; however, Bishop Cline said while persons keep guns for protection, it remains largely ineffective against deterring criminals elements with guns.
“It is for their [gun owner] machoness, I won’t even say protection, because most of the people who died by gun violence had guns.”
More has to be done to ride streets of illegal guns - Bishop Cline
Bishop Cline, therefore, concluded that guns give persons a sense of power; however, he said that more needs to be done to engage illegal gun owners to hand them over.
“We have to sit by the wells and the trees with some of these guys,” Bishop Cline said regarding engaging gun owners and their need for guns.
“We find a better way! What’s driving this? Somehow, we have to get to them”, he further added.
Premier Fahie has since indicated that the local amnesty plan will make use of community leaders to encourage the public to turn over their guns.
During a gun amnesty by the RVIPF in July 2015, some 11 firearms were turned in. They included a 30-30 rifle; a .357 Magnum handgun along with 27 rounds of ammunition; a M-1911 .45 semi-auto pistol; a .38 snub noise revolver with 50 fifty rounds of ammunition; five air rifles and two air pistols.
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10 Responses to “'People with guns don’t want to give them up' – Bishop Cline”
Caught importing an illegal gun via plane or boat? 20 years for each firearm+ $250,000 fine+ seizure of all assets to the crown (All Mandatory).
Caught with a gun? 20 years + $100,000 fine+ seizure of all assets found with the firearm (All Mandatory)
Firing a gun without injury or attempt to commit a serious come? Mandatory 30 years + $100,000 fine + seizure of assets found with the firearm (All Mandatory)
Using or Firing a gun with injury or during the commission of a serious crime? Mandatory 50 years + $250,000 fine + seizure of all assets found with firearm (All Mandatory)
Murder, Rape or Kidnapping with the use of a firearm- Mandatory full life sentence+ 20 years for possession of firearm+ $250,000 fine+ $100,000 restitution to victim family+ seizure of all assets (All mandatory)
Make it painful not only for the gunman dem, but their families. So regularly you hear of gun cases where nothing come about of it, where the families either pay money under the table or pay to have the case delayed so long that it comes a no case submission. If our lazy fat politicians is about business- that will be a step in right direction.
Some form of compensation may just cause them to hand it in.
TALK IS CHEAP , WE ALL KNOW THAT
You gotta have some guns.
To live in East End
You gotta have some guns.
To live in West End
You gotta have some guns.
We tunnit suh here in Tortola.60 insolved murders. Keep it up.