Guns, murder and wider responsibility

Among all the problems confronting the Caribbean, one major human plague stands out, that of the murder of so many of our citizens by illegal firearms. Most of the 55 deaths in St Vincent and the Grenadines last year and the 75

recorded in St. Lucia, not to mention the hundreds in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago as well as the thousands of similar victims in Latin America, were killed by the use of illegal firearms, almost all of them manufactured in the USA.

This has long sparked concern throughout the hemisphere and calls for this matter to be addressed. Mexico, the southern neighbour of the USA, is suffering more than most since it shares a long border with its northern neighbour which is very difficult to patrol. The concern has been so heightened there that the Mexican government has been forced to take legal action against US gun manufacturers to force them to bear responsibility for their role in the murder toll.

A case was filed in 2022 against US gun manufacturers charging them with responsibility for the estimated tens of thousands of Mexican citizens murdered by Mexican drug cartels. Among the manufacturers named were some with whom our police will be well familiar from investigations in murder cases here. These are Smith and Wesson, Glock, Beretta, Barrett, Sturm and Ruger.

Mexico argued before the court that these manufacturers knew that the guns were being sold to gun traffickers who sold them to the drug cartels and thus must bear responsibility for the violence. However, the US court ruled then that the gun manufacturers are protected by a US law, the “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act” (2005). This law shields gun makers from damages “resulting from criminal unlawful misuse” of their products.

However, Mexico was not satisfied with that ruling and took the matter to the US Appeals Court. In mid-January of this year the Appeals Court gave Mexico the go-ahead to proceed with its US$10 billion lawsuit against the American gun manufacturers. That lawsuit charges that the “flood” of illegal guns across the border arises from “deliberate business practices by US gun makers”, and that the manufacturers knew that the guns are being sold to traffickers and must therefore share responsibility for the violence.

In the USA itself, the president of a citizens group, the Global Action on Gun Violence, welcomed the Appeals Court ruling, calling it “a huge step forward in holding the gun industry accountable for its contribution to gun violence and in stopping the flood of trafficked guns to cartels”. The Appeals Court, it said, has “recognized the right of another country to sue US gun manufacturers”.

But it is not just in the USA that there has been a favourable response to the Appeals Court decision. The Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Hon. Keith Rowley is on record as being in support of that ruling. That should not be a surprise since Dr Rowley on the occasion of the last Summit of CARICOM Heads of State and Government last year, had announced that the Heads had agreed to send a communique to the US government pointing out that the main contributor to crime and violence in the Caribbean is the proliferation of guns manufactured in the USA. The communique was supposed to call on the US government to assist in the war against guns declared by CARICOM, just as it had jumped to assist in the war against drugs. Incidentally far more citizens of this hemisphere die from gun violence than any number in the USA ever died from drug use.

This is a critical element in the fight against guns which cannot be ignored. While we struggle to come to grips with this scourge, blaming police, government, local institutions and the like, this fundamental root cause of the problem cannot be ignored or swept under the carpet, We are fond of repeating the saying that “the upholder is worse than the thief”. If we believe this then we too must give support to the demand that those responsible for providing the weapons for the carnage must bear responsibility for it.

If the USA can provide us with the support for training police, military and coast guard personnel, with military equipment and facilities, then, with all the resources at its command, it can also assist us with the same level of enthusiasm that it employed in the “war against drugs” and bring its gun manufacturers to heel for their criminal responsibility in these heinous crimes.

That does not absolve us from stepping up our own efforts to combat violent crime, especially gun murders, but to ignore the responsibility of those who willingly sell guns to the drug cartels which employ hitmen and who make illegal guns easily available is a grave mistake. We must not only support our leaders in this venture but put pressure on them to also show resolve in this venture.

• Renwick Rose is a community activist and social commentator.