A Shot In The Dark?

THE GOVERNMENT’S PROPOSAL TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF FIREARMS AN INDIVIDUAL CAN OWN UNSETTLES GUN OWNERS

- Rahul Noronha

A move that the NDA government says will help reduce firearm crimes in India predictably has licensed gun owners up in arms. The Centre’s proposal to reduce the number of firearms that an individual can own from the current maximum of three to just one, through an amendment in the law, is being resisted by a motley alliance of politicians, defence and security personnel, associations of so-called martial communities, aristocrats and sportspersons.

This change has been proposed through the Arms Act (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which was scheduled to come up for discussion in Parliament this week. How ever, according to sources, the government has deferred the move for now following resistance from MPs. A group of 15 MPs met Union home minister Amit Shah on December 4 and argued against the one-firearm-per-individual clause in the bill.

The bill seeks to amend several provisions of the Arms Act, 1959. If the proposed cap on personal firearms gets the nod, licensees will have to deposit their extra weapons with licensed arms dealers or the police within a year of the new law taking effect. The restriction on firearms will apply even to heirloom pieces.

The Union ministry for home affairs (MHA) had invited suggestions and objections to the proposed amendments by November 18 and had initially proposed two firearms per individual. According to a Rajya Sabha parliamentary bulletin, the proposed amendments will ‘enable the law enforcement machinery to curb crimes related to or committed by illegal arms more effectively’.