Second chance

Dennis Meadows, the former deputy chairman of the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA) who is embroiled in an unfolding scandal at the entity, has denied claims that he was part of a group that granted gun permits to persons previously denied, without provision of new documentation.

And pressed on why he had approved permits for persons with criminal convictions or criminal traces, Meadows said that he did not believe in holding people’s past against them.

His rebuttal comes a day after FLA CEO Shane Dalling made jaw-dropping allegations at a press conference Tuesday that he was among senior officials at the entity who granted permits to more than 200 people of questionable character, including his brother-in-law, after they were initially denied.

In a Gleaner interview on Wednesday, Meadows, who has heavily criticised the FLA since his departure in 2017, said Dalling’s claim that no new documentation was submitted and that there were no appeals before the licences were granted was false.

He said letters were submitted by applicants for a review of the previous board’s decision and cases were re-examined and permits granted on that basis.

Furthermore, he said that he was not of the view that an applicant’s criminal record should be used against them if they have demonstrated a change in behaviour.

“When we went there [we were told] that the practice is time immemorial at FLA, that the current board can re-examine previous board’s decision because the appeals process was perpetual ... and there was the statute for that. We weren’t examining ourselves and previous boards had done that,” Meadows said.

The former Jamaica Labour Party senator and standard-bearer for the Trelawny Northern constituency who declared himself a “liberal when it comes on to guns” said it was not outside the board’s or CEO’s remit to implement policies that would facilitate Jamaicans, despite the law specifying that there must be an appeal process.

He said the permits were granted in the context of an overlong appeal process and on the basis that it prohibited resubmission of an application.

Dalling had disclosed that among the more than 200 people granted permits were applicants who had convictions for murder, firearm offences, and drug trafficking.

“Let’s say you didn’t appeal the decision. You can write a letter to the CEO or the chairman requesting a re-examination of your situation because maybe it changed over time,” said Meadows.

“You might have been living in a board house but today you live in a different house. It was based on new information. So we would invite the applicant for an interview. It’s not what he (Dalling) is making it out to be.”

Pressed by The Gleaner on why people with criminal records were granted permits, Meadows said that the Firearms Act is ambiguous.

He said that it needed to be “codified”, presenting a clearer picture of what is meant by the term “fit and proper”.

Meadows also said amendments are needed within the law to clarify what are the criteria for “need”.

“If you leave it to the discretion of five persons, that decision will vary ... . To me, it (law) is loose and nebulous. The possession of a criminal record does not preclude one from getting a firearm, nor does the absence of a criminal record make you worthy of a firearm,” he said, adding that the law speaks to restricted persons.

At the same time, Meadows told The Gleaner that the law recognises redemption.

“I am not going to deny somebody once they have demonstrated what we deem as a need. They have been living an exemplary life and they need it. I’m not going to use that against them. I’m not,” he said, insisting that people change.

Section 29 (3) of the Firearms Act says no licence, certificate or permit shall be granted to a restricted person except with the prior approval of the minister.

The act defines a restricted person as, among other things, a habitual criminal or someone who has been convicted of an offence involving violence and sentenced to a term of imprisonment, whether with or without hard labour exceeding three months.

Section 29(4) says a permit may be granted by the appropriate authority only if he is satisfied that the applicant has a good reason for acquiring or having in his possession the firearm or ammunition without being a danger to public safety or peace.

It says a permit should not be approved for a person whom the appropriate authority has reason to believe has intemperate habits, is of unsound mind, or unfitted to be entrusted with a firearm or ammunition.

Documents seen by The Gleaner showed that a previous FLA board granted two firearm licences for 9mm pistols to a convict the police said was the main cocaine supplier in St Elizabeth.

According to the documents, the man had direct drug partners in Costa Rica and Honduras and used the Alligator Pond area to conduct his launching and retrieval of contraband.

His licences were revoked in 2018.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com