Woman turns in late husband’s gun

A widow who has been in possession of her late husband’s unregistered firearm for more than 30 years has handed over the weapon to the authorities.

The gun is among 20 that were surrendered during the first week of the two-week gun amnesty that has been declared on the island.

Commenting on the surrender of the unregistered firearm, Shane Dalling, CEO of the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA), said the permit for the gun was last renewed in 1988.

“The person has been deceased and the spouse had the firearm in her possession since 1988, so under the present amnesty she thought it necessary to hand in the firearm given the serious penalty of 15 years imprisonment minimum for such possession,” Dalling said.

The amnesty, which began on November 5 and runs until Saturday, November 19, allows persons who are in possession of illegal firearms or ammunition or those for which no licence or authorisation exists, the opportunity to surrender these firearms or ammunition to the state without the fear of prosecution.

Under the new firearms law, persons found in possession of an illegal or unregistered firearm face 15 years to life imprisonment if convicted in a circuit court.

Dalling told THE STAR that he expects the number of surrendered guns to increase as the end of the amnesty draws near.

“People are usually late comers and a lot of people will come in at that time,” he said.