The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

AS A member of the general public, I need the 4th Estate to assist me and the public in knowing the answers to these pertinent questions:

1. In law, it is the Prime Minister who must approve the licensing of a handgun for persons outside the uniformed branches. Did Prime Minister Christie grant approval for Ministers BJ Nottage and Keith Bell (a junior minister) to be issued a handgun and, if so, why? What has changed between May 7 when the term of the previous government ended without any Ministers being the holder of handguns, and now, to justify such an approval? Who are the other persons in the Cabinet who have also been issued a firearm? If the Prime Minister did approve this, where is the paperwork to substantiate the approval? If the Prime Minister did not approve this, it is my opinion that the Commissioner of Police, BJ Nottage and Keith Bell are in contravention of the laws of the Bahamas with respect to the issuance and possession of a handgun.

2. Is BJ Nottage carrying a handgun into the precincts of Parliament? If so, under what law or rule is he authorised to do this, when weapons are prohibited in the precincts, except when carried by Police Officers? Why would a sitting member of Parliament need to carry a concealed weapon in the precincts which are already guarded by armed police officers? Under what circumstances might a Minister justifiably use/discharge a handgun when he is personally guarded by police officers, all of whom are armed? If a sitting MP is carrying a concealed weapon in the precincts, how does that affect the rights of the other sitting members of parliament? Who would a sitting MP need to potentially shoot or protect himself from in the Parliament of The Bahamas?

3. Has the government of The Bahamas now relaxed its restrictions on the permission to have and carry a handgun, since the government allegedly approved the issuance of handguns to civilians who are already being guarded by multiple armed police officers? If a civilian under armed guard can qualify for a handgun, why can't the average Bahamian who has no such protection whatsoever be so easily granted this permission, especially given the escalating rate of violent crime in the society?

4. Did the Commissioner of Police issue Keith Bell a handgun or did Keith Bell issue himself that weapon? Keith Bell was denied a handgun before. He says the denial was "political" (as he knows it is the Prime Minister who must authorise such a thing). Why did Keith resign from the Force? Was it voluntary or involuntary? If he was asked to hand in his letter of resignation, what did he do while on the Force that caused his resignation to be demanded - if in fact that were so? Why does Keith Bell, now a politician, show up to crime scenes and attempt to take over and otherwise direct police investigations at these scenes?

Keith Bell said Tommy Turnquest did not have a gun because he made no decisions as Minister that would make people want to harm him. So then, what decisions could BJ Nottage and Keith Bell have possibly taken in their only four weeks in office, to cause persons to want to harm them and therefore give them the "right", as Bell calls it, to be armed?

1. What message is being sent to the world about The Bahamas, wherein it has issued handguns to its Cabinet Ministers, Ministers who are already being guarded by armed police? What type of government and society will the world see The Bahamas as having? And is the government saying it has no confidence in the Royal Bahamas Police Force, that though its armed officers are guarding Cabinet Ministers, the government still feels it needs to give the Ministers weapons themselves?

2. Why did the Prime Minister increase the PM's police detail from 6 under the FNM just a month ago, to 24? All of these officers, by joining the detail, of course, are no longer on the beat and therefore off the streets where officers in Nassau are badly needed. Did the Prime Minister contact the Commissioner of Police and ask that a former officer of the Force be appointed an Officer's post as head of security detail? Did the Commissioner deny that request because the person is no longer an officer on the Force? If he did, why is this former officer acting as the Officer in Charge of the Prime Minister's detail? Does the Prime Minister carry a firearm? Does his Deputy carry a firearm? If not, then what is the justification for Ministers beneath him to have one? A nation's leader presumably is always at a more general risk of harm than his subordinates. What is the Cabinet of The Bahamas suddenly afraid of, that it has armed itself and increased its police details, taking officers off the streets who will not be replaced in their new budget?

A CITIZEN WOULD LIKE TO KNOW

Nassau,

June 6, 2012.