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With the staging of 3 well orchestrated, high profile murders of prominent street figures in the last 7 months: Orel Leslie, Jose Matus and Troy Hyde - all with either high powered weapons, or in this most recent case, a massive attack, government is finally speaking up on the licensing of.223 rifles - which is a high powered weapon.
That is the type that was reportedly used in the Jose Matus murder. And it's the type that murder suspect Cornelio Martinez had at his home - which was licensed. It's also the kind that Brandon Gillett was brandishing outside his grandmother's funeral in December - that one was also licensed. And, of course, murder victim Ricardo Borja also had a licensed.223 rifle.
Well, licenses for those have been put on pause. A release today says that the "Firearms and Ammunition Control Board has also decided to impose a moratorium on the processing of firearm licenses for the.223 caliber rifles pending a review." The release adds, quote, "This decision aims to ensure that the issuance of such licenses is done in a manner consistent with the law and in the best interests of public safety…the moratorium will remain in place until the review is completed…"
And that's not the only big announcement coming out of he board today. They're also going to perform an audit of the gun register which they inherited from the commissioner of police. The board has requested, quote, "that an audit be carried out to look into the past authority and the procedures involved in the processing of firearm licenses." End quote. 7News has been pushing for an audit for months - and the responses from the police minister and the commissioner are always agreeable but totally lacking in specifics. This is the first move towards an audit initiated by a government entity.
And while that is one side of the debate, the other is that gun dealers and users complain that no new licenses have been issued since October of last year.
