An Amendment to the Firearms Act has been published in the September 13 edition of the Anguilla Official Gazette. It has doubled the penalties for gun offences on the island.

An Amendment to the Firearms Act has been published in the September 13 edition of the Anguilla Official Gazette. It has doubled the penalties for gun offences on the island.

The Firearms (Amendment) Bill, 2005 follows various cases of possessions of guns and a number of shooting incidents in Anguilla, the most recent being during the carnival activities.

The objects and reasons of the Bill provide for:

- An increase in the term of imprisonment from 1 year to 2 years under section 11 or 44 of the Firearms Act;

- A two-fold increase ($5,000 to $10,000 in the penalties that may imposed by a magistrate for an offence committed under section 26 of the Firearm Act;

- A two-fold increase ($5,000 to $10,000) in the fine that may be imposed by a magistrate for an offence committed under section 41 (2) of the Firearms Act and if there is a default in paying the fine, to seek to empower the magistrate to impose a custodial sentence of up to 3 years instead of 3 months; and

- An increase in the penalties that may be imposed on conviction for offences committed under the Firearms Act which are made either summarily or on indictment pursuant to section 50 of that Act.

The penalties under that section involves a fine from $5,000 to $50,000 and sentences from 1 year to 3 years and 10 years to 14 years.

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