Dear Editor,
In the news of the week of 19 April, we hear that CARICOM leaders would like to hold US gun manufacturers accountable for the ‘illegal’ weapons which fuel gun violence in the Carib-bean. There were some bizarre comments reportedly made by PM Gonsalves and probably others during this week. Defenders of gun rights in the USA usually say guns don’t kill people, but people do. Gun violence though comes from guns usually made legally and with great profit, and sold legally and illegally. People want to make greater demands on the makers and sellers of guns and ammunition to be more vigilant about the ‘people’ who kill people.
During this week, there was a quiet story about Guyana’s Attorney-General lamenting that ‘bar owners’ should not be selling to drunk people, especially drivers. In Guyana, we do not admit the alcohol problem, so data about alcohol fuelled violence and gun-related violence cannot really be compared. We also do not have universal understandings of what constitutes violence. While some of the CARICOM heads talked about the cost of gun violence in the countries, the political leaders in Guyana dare not talked about the cost and burden of alcohol on Guyana, as it seems the various profits apparently are more important.
And so in the ambivalence about violence, and the causes of violence, and the things like guns and alcohol which intensify the outcomes of the violence, the CARICOM leaders want to hold the gun industry accountable, while embracing and not really doing anything about making the alcohol industry accountable for the havoc the industry wreaks in our society.
If CARICOM leaders want to hold the gun industry accountable, then they should also be holding the alcohol industry accountable for the violence in our society.
Yours sincerely
Vidyaratha Kissoon
