By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

CALLS for more stringent gun laws intensified yesterday after a shooting incident in the area of Key West Street left a family of five in hospital, including a four-year-old girl who was shot in the head.

Speaking to The Tribune moments before visiting the families of the victims of Wednesday’s shooting, Englerston MP Glenys Hanna Martin said she was “deeply distressed” by not only the high level crime in inner city communities, but the number of guns on Bahamian streets.

A sombre Mrs Hanna Martin said that more had to be done to gain a “stranglehold” on crime while contending that the issue had now moved beyond the political arena.

She referred to it as a “complex, sensitive national issue”.

“At a cabinet level - it’s a primary issue for us, I mean, to not speak to it would be ludicrous,” she said. “This is a matter that every Bahamian has to be concerned about. We all now need to step up and do our parts because the trend is worsening.

“We can’t make this a political thing or a police thing, lives are being lost and our nation is hurting. This is a national matter that we all need to help correct.

Mrs Hanna Martin claimed that the erosion of what she termed “basic Bahamian fundamentals” are leading to crime.

“The image we are seeing of the Bahamas isn’t the one we want to see, but in reality, it is what we are seeing on a day-to-day basis. It is clear that we have some fundamental issues, things we need to change.

“The persons losing their lives represent a demographic in our country. We need to determine what is driving this violent culture, this gun culture, and work to end it. We now have to seriously address the issue of illegal firearms.

“How are they getting into the country?

“We need to figure this out because these guns are getting into the hands of our people, these guns are destroying lives, ruining families - (guns) are devastating our communities.”

According to The Tribune’s records and based on police reports, in 13 of the 14 homicides recorded so far in July the weapons of choice were firearms.

The total murder count for 2015 is 88, a significant increase on the 71 over the same period last year.

Prominent pastor Bishop Simeon Hall took the discussions a step further, demanding that the Christie administration double its efforts to resolve what he called “a worsening trend”.

Bishop Hall said it was now time for the government to revisit its gun laws.

“Whatever the present penalties are for the possession of illegal guns, they are not working,” he said.

“Illegal guns are at the centre of crimes being committed.

“The government has to declare an all-out war on guns.

“It seems that the number of guns being confiscated on our streets doesn’t compare to the number of guns entering our streets.”

The former New Covenant Baptist Church pastor suggested that persons committing crimes have become oblivious to the laws, adding “they don’t fear them anymore”.

“This crisis is beyond sides or political arguments, there needs to be a joint effort by all political parties and civic groups.

“That is the only way we can stop this.”

Underscoring the importance of the discussion Bishop Hall said: “No, I am not a supporter of hanging, but you can’t stay tied to philosophical terms.

“We need to find alternatives to combat this crisis. If we don’t hang we need to do something else.

“The police are now becoming frustrated by the system the parliamentarians are creating with their actions and practices,” he said.

Last month State National Security Minister Keith Bell and Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson praised the government’s efforts to tackle crime.

Mr Bell, speaking in the Senate, insisted that homicides should not be the sole indicator of how bad the crime situation is.

“We are winning because we have a comprehensive plan to address crime criminality,” he said.

“We have implemented programmes to attack crime and its causes.”