Pringle Backs Firearms Amendment but Says Government Must Stop Guns Reaching the Streets

Opposition Leader Jamal Pringle has expressed support for tougher penalties under the Firearms (Amendment) Bill, 2026, while warning that longer sentences alone will not solve Antigua and Barbuda’s gun crime problem.

Speaking in the House of Representatives during debate on the bill, Pringle said people convicted of serious firearm offences should face the full force of the law. He also pledged to play his part in efforts to make communities safer.

But he argued that the legislation would have an effect only when offenders are caught. The government, he said, must put equal effort into preventing illegal guns from entering the country and identifying the people who supply them.

Pringle called for greater scrutiny of what happens after police recover a firearm. Tracing a weapon beyond the person found carrying it, he said, could help investigators identify importation routes and disrupt supply networks. He urged the establishment of a firearm tracing unit within the police force, if one does not already exist, along with closer cooperation with regional and international agencies.

He also questioned the state of the country’s forensic capacity and recalled earlier announcements about a forensic laboratory. He asked whether it was fully operational and whether evidence still had to be sent overseas for examination.

The opposition leader said police and other agencies need the staff, equipment and funding to make the proposed penalties meaningful. He urged the government to address resource concerns raised by police when the next budget is prepared.

Pringle linked the apparent involvement of younger people in serious violence to wider social problems. He called for better community facilities, prevention programmes, attention to substance abuse and mental health, and prison reform that gives greater weight to rehabilitation.

He also took issue with Prime Minister Gaston Browne’s remarks about the judiciary. Pringle warned that public attacks on judges and magistrates could undermine confidence in sentencing decisions and said concerns about judicial conduct should be pursued through the appropriate channels.

Pringle said the firearm amendments should form part of a national strategy developed with stakeholders across the political divide.