Attorney says firearm bill will lock up everyone on the premises
michael peyrefitte
It’s no secret that the crime situation in Belize has spiraled out of control and the government is grasping at straws to find solutions to the problem. But nothing seems to be working so now GOB has resorted to stiffer penalties for firearm offences. On this morning’s Open Your Eyes, Attorney Michael Peyrefitte broke down the proposed Criminal Code and Firearms Bills, which seeks to crack down on the wide circulation of unlicensed firearms. It is common knowledge that when a police search yields an unlicensed firearm at a home, all persons present will be detained. Well, one point in the bill that sticks out is that this concept would be extended to businesses. Peyrefitte explains.
Michael Peyrefitte, Attorney
“Where any unlicensed firearm or ammunition is found in or on any premises owned or occupied by more than one person, one bullet—it could be one bullet, ih could be wah hundred bullet, ih could be wah gun, ih could be wah hundred gun pan any premises—found in or on any premise—your house, your work, whatever—the following persons shall be presumed to be in possession of that unlicensed firearm or ammunition. The person in control of the premises—who di control dah Channel Five, gwein dah jail; the person ordinarily resident in or on the premises—security guard, cameramen, whatever; dehn gwein dah jail; the person ordinarily employed in or on the premises, yoh gwein dah jail. So if Marleni bring wah illegal nine millimeter on this compound during Open Your Eyes, everybody gwein. Cameraman gwein; everybody gwein, the cleaner; everybody gwein dah jail. di police would deem you William, you two cameramen, to be in possession of that firearm even though you noh know nothing bout it yoh know, they will deem you in possession of it. Therefore, you gwein dah jail and you can’t get bail fi three weeks to four weeks from the Supreme Court. It’s that simple or yoh plead guilty and spend two years—and yoh have to have land fi try get di bail cause di court still has a discretion.”
The bill has similar provisions for unlicensed weapons thrown from vehicles, motorcycles and bicycles.
And GOB hopes the changes will help to reduce the circulation of unlicensed firearms, Peyrefitte looks more closely at the possible ramifications of the stiffer penalties and the fact that some aspects of the bill might be a kneejerk reaction to the crime situation.
Michael Peyrefitte
“To me some of them are kneejerk and when you do kneejerk actions, you hurt people who you did not intend to hurt or who was not a part of the problem that you’re trying to solve. That’s the problem with knee jerk reactions. What it does, it brings down pressure. And I always say to myself like this, if I am a criminal with a gun and the police are heading towards me and there’s a chance that they will find this gun and I just noh feel like spend four weeks inna jail right now, I may be tempted to shoot it out to get away. So as you make the penalties stiffer and stiffer and stiffer and stiffer and the more you treat people as they’re guilty instead of treating them as they’re innocent, people are going to react. They’re going to have their own kneejerk reaction because if I know that I am going to jail—if I am driving a vehicle and I was listening to this show this morning and a friend of mine threw the gun out my backseat, I’m going to try and outrace this police car because I don’t want to be found in this car and then you run the risk of hitting people, knocking down people, hurting other people. While if you knew that the magistrate has discretion to grant you bail, you would more stop and say yes I was driving the car because you know that jail is not mandatory. I think we have to be very careful when we pass these laws that we don’t force people to do other things to protect themselves from this legislation.”
If you missed Open Your Eyes this morning or its repeat before the news, Channel Five will air it again on Sunday at ten a.m.
Mr Peyrefitte sounds like Belize’s version of the American Civil Liberties Union. Knee jerk or not, let’s face it, most of us would rather have our fate decided by 9 or 12 of our peers than carried by 6 of our friends. I understand that your clients can afford to pay & you are simply doing your job but those little sweeties just put someone else’ pride & joy’s light out. The violence is worse than cancer & the same we try to rid our bodies of diseases, remove infected limbs when diabetes get the best of us, we have to do something to snuff out or curb the violence. No system is foolproof, as successful attorneys; you & your colleagues continue to prove that our court is run by fools.
Law abiding citizens do not have to hide legally registered guns & I don’t believe the average Belizean will risk life & limb in an effort to evade police. What you just made was a good argument fro us to stay away from worthless friends & relatives.
it is a good idea to excute stiffer penalities to gun users, i even believe that the punishment should be even more harsh for gun users.
Now Flowers cannot give bail to criminals with guns even though she is use to doing that.
And now, what about abuse, and rape against women and children?
This law has it’s advantage and disadvantage. But i think that the police knows the trouble makers. Ok, let’s say, I took a taxi to work, this taxi man have wah unlicensed firearm in his taxi. they search the taxi and find it. How in hell i going da jail to along with the taxi man. That’s not right. I think that the government need to analyze things before they put anything into law.
this is so ####### up….barrow di hurt this country.
about time laws like this one are passed this attorny has been getting off all the criminals he is getting rich by getting off all the criminals in belize if you have any sense of honesty stop representing the thieves and murderers and do honest work for a change.
A few weeks ago someone posted a list of laws feom different countries that appear to have been relevant when crafted and made into law. Its punctuate how stupid Politicians can be when they are dealing with social issue that they are not capable of resolving rationally. Just emagin I come from another district or another country and my friend allow me to stay at his/her house and I know nothing about that friend or relative been in possessin of a gun, the police conduct a raid while I’m there and find a gun, I get locked up as a totally innosent person. Someone give me a ride in his/her vehicle and I don’t know he/she has a gun in the car, the police finds it as a result of a randum stop check, I go to gail. I just come in from abroad and someone pick me up from the airport, the driver is stop and the vehicle is search and a gun is found in the vehicle which I had no knowledge was in the car, I go to jail. How if I’m on a public transport and its searced by the police and they find a gun on one of the passengers, then what will happen to the other passangers?
I go to your place of business to conduct business and the police on a tip make a raid and find’s a gun, me the innosent customer who is just there to do business go to jail.What this is saying is that upon entering someone house or vehicle they must be made to sign a release that I do not know if they have or does not have a gun.Would that release me from been arrested if the police make a raid while I’m in the car or premises and find a gun.? Pack up the prison with innosent persons, some of whom could be high profile individuals that is working in some high profile position. Surely a drowning man grab’s at a straw. This is a stupid law, (to be). LUDICROUS.
This is the result of putting people in power that has little or no experience for the position he/she are assigned. Watch when the prison get more over stock with decent citizens amongst real criminals who will see them as an easy pick, because these individuals are now in their domain. How about the courts, will they have the man power to deal with the now overloaded court system? If this become law it will back fire and causes even more problem for the police and the public at large. I’m surprise that the learnded attorney is focussing on criminal trying to get away while driving a car an endangering the public. there are lots more to the stupid law if its encompasing as the attorney pointed out.
I support stiffer penalties….but, like Nina said, I no going to jail with a taxi man…its a good thing I no ride taxi. The poorer people will get the brunt of it. I dont think this law makes much sense.
Well said, rod. Manford also brings up a good points. I think this topic deserves a good debate/public consultations before they are passed into law.
What this Attorney is saying doesn’t make any sense.Since when has criminals in Belize sat in their vehicles and wait for the cops to arrest them?
TOTALLY MISGUIDED…………. prior offenses if any should be taken into account, including the character of the people involved. IF I DON’T KNOW ABOUT A GUN IN YOUR HOUSE …….WHY should I go to jail for it if they find it while I am there????????
i think the gov. have to analyse this proposed law before implementing it, since we got to look at it in various angles as for the impact it will be on the country. it sounds good in one way but seeing it like NINA point of view is really crazy as what can happen being in a situation she related which can happen. so please analyse this proposal before making an big outrage to local abiding belizean citizens that can be affected for no reason at all.
to this attorney everytime i read about a criminals in court its you defending him do some honest work for a change mi friend start defend the innocent but nooooo you so greedy somebody should a give you wa keejerk make you wake up a stop defend criminals .
In trying to solve the crime rate in Belize the Gov is right in trying to provide stiffer penalties for those worthless criminals because our system here is really messed up especially when a criminal has money or political affiliation. However, in the part about taking everyone present to jail in the case of the recovery of an illegal firearm is just plain senseless! It makes me wonder what is in the brains of these people when making these legistlations, the innocent poor people are the ones who cannot afford to pay the bail so they will be the ones to suffer unlike those criminals who have the means of meeting the bail! Prime minister wake up and think about these legistaions and how they will affect the Belizeans who elected you into office. Thimk about your people and stop wasting our tax dollars!!
The good pay for the bad!!! That’s Belize Style… let the criminals (that can afford expensive lawyers) get off scott free while the innocent are incarcerated!!! The politicians all they want are higher numbers of arrest for their statistics… no matter who they arrest… for them it looks good for their press conferences… while the true criminals roam free … Bravo manford…. you hit the nail directly… that’s what we get when we elect pea brains to rule our country….. that goes for BOTH parties… blue and red!!!
barrow have gu !
At BZNinCALI: In what scenario are you implying that you would be carried by 6 friends? Having YOUR government impede your ability to defend yourself comes to mind. There are already stiff
penalties for those who choose to have a weapon. Broadening the scope of people arround them does not make them STIFFER. Enforcing current laws against murder comes to mind.
Why does possession of a weapon equal unlawful use. The only crime is MY government not being able to defend me, then having the gall to prevent me from defending myself. I very much would rather be tried by 12 than carried by 6… Interpratation, since you don’t seem to know:
I’ll defend myself illegally if necessary, and take my chances wuth the justice system. Sorry if I’m not a “good” boy like you, and let the real criminals have their way. Like the Manford sez:
We have people with no insight, foresight, or even hindsight grasping at straws.
LET US DEFEND OURSELVES! Give law abiding citizens the right to carry guns.
Hmm…..we all ask for tougher law on crime, government starts to move us to a “Crime Prevention” model (at last) with its usual disadvantages…..then this Bill.
I read the bill last night, anyone else?
Makes sense to me.
Section 6A lays it out quite clear…….no where does it mention anything about arresting and jailing everyone in a house if a unlicensed gun is found.
Not a fan of this governement, but this Bill is definetly a move in the right direction.
Before you knock it – Read it.
This is messed up in so many ways. I am from the islands and use taxi’s when I got to Belize City, so what happens if they search the taxi I hired for the day and they find a gun in the taxi? If its a 9mm that they find, I have a license so does that mean that they will not charge me for ammunition possession cause im licensed for 100 rounds but they will charge me for illegal firearm possession because the dimwitted cabby has one?
This has to be the dumbest gun law I have ever heard of, this makes Mexican gun laws look intelligent.
Islander – read the Bill. Owner of the vehicle will be the one charged for the unlicensed gun, in your example, the taxidriver….Section 6A (again).
Baffles me how we take the opinion of one person at face value without reading the Bill ourselves to form a more rounded opinion.
Thanks for reading the law Common Sense. Tony, you inferred what you wanted from my comments. No Government can protect us all the time & there is no reason for law abiding citizens to not have the right to carry a gun. In America, we have a12 person jury, in Belize, I believe it is up to 9. In plain Kriol, a rada have wa legal gun fi shoot sum baddy, like wan a Mr. Peyrefitte’s clients who assume dat ah dah wah sittin duck & shoot mi raaa.. because ih tink I si sunting & dead witness cyah talk & mi family hafto back mi dead bax.
Don’t get hostile brother, this is just conversation, most of us, men & women are law abiding & that frees us up to get a carrying permit. No Belizean should allow this attorney’s interpretation of the law to keep them from protecting themselves, his clients who were on trial for murder are not walking the streets because they are innocent, they got off because of sloppy police work & witness intimidation, they still have guns. You did get one thing right, the six friends carrying my dead body. No one is asking you to die & we would not be having this conversation if life was not so cheap in Belize , what I’m asking you to do is not let this man’s interpretation have us lose our bloody minds.
I strongly support stiffer gun control penalties in Belize. As for the rantings of Lawyer Michael Peyrefitte himself and other gullible lawyers are a part of the crime situation in Belize. Everyone knows that when a case reaches the court that it will end up in favor of the perpetrator.Thanks to the incompetent judicial system of Belize.
Question…when does the hanging begin?
lo thats all I can say firstly, is he for real about this gun law to toughen things it kind sound like a good idea but to charge everyone and put them in jail for a month or more is totally not right, the saying is true the good suffers for the bad and what is more bogus is that they need to have a house thats crazy majority of people in Belize doesn’t have their own house so if a whole company suffers for one stupid employee mistake is not right cause that means 1 out of ten will be free then. the Government better come up with a better plan seriously .
So if the law is passed – what would happen if the Police searched the Radisson Fort George, Marina Towers, Princess, Airport, or even the ‘House’ on Belmopan whist the politicians are in, passing equally stupid laws, and found an unlicensed firearm or ammunition – EVERYBODY go to jail????????
Probably not – unless, by some miracle, the above mentioned places were full of only poor black Belizenas!