PM says MP Pringle's ‘Hot Gun’ Question has No Place in Parliament, while Critic tells him that ‘Pedophile’ Accusation was ‘Political Mischief’

Some locals say they could not believe their ears, nor could they believe Prime Minister Gaston Browne as he tried to water-down remarks he made two years ago about “hot guns.” 

On August 31, 2024, during his Saturday radio program, Prime Minister Browne told his radio audience he was expecting gang members to dispose of any firearms that had been used to commit serious crimes – instead of surrendering them in an amnesty under discussion with the Police. 

That remark, coming from the head of government during a gang-war crisis, shocked most law-abiding citizens.

Since then, the number of gun crimes, including murder, has spiked alarmingly, causing frightened citizens to cry out for greater gun control by the authorities, and leading to amendments to the laws during the Lower House sitting on Monday, September 28.

In light of the current crime wave, Opposition Leader Jamale Pringle asked PM Browne whether he still stands by the caution given to gang-bangers to dispose of their “hot firearms” however they can.

“Instead of manning-up and admitting it was an ill-advised statement to make, the prime minister tried to chide Pringle for asking the question,” one shocked business owner says. “Imagine that!”

In short, Browne told Pringle that Parliament was not the forum to bring up his statement and that this reference belonged on the political hustings.  Further, he claimed he had intended the damaging remark mostly as “a form of satire,” and he accused the Opposition leader of “corrupting” what he, Browne, had said, for “political mischief.” 

This attempted put-down earned the prime minister no points among observers, however. One national, commenting from the United States, noted that Browne wants to decide, unilaterally, what subjects are suitable for Parliament and which are not.  

“When he was in there talking about who ‘dey wid pedophile,’ wasn’t he trying to ‘score cheap political points?’  Wasn’t that ‘political mischief?’” the man asks.

Meanwhile, other critics say they wish the prime minister and attorney-general would put as much energy into stopping the illegal importation of firearms as they have put into punishing the end-users – whom they describe as young, poor, and with limited opportunities – for possession.

As one mother puts it: “In this place, is always the little Peter who pay for Mr. Paul.”