And finally tonight, the Firearms and Ammunition Control Board has lifted the moratorium on licenses for.223 rifles.
It is cause for celebration amongst gun dealers - as evidenced by Darwin Gallardo of the Outdoorsman Lounge - when he made this post today:
But, beyond the excitement, Jules Vasquez discussed the board initiative and the finer points with the Chairman of the Board:
Francis Usher, CEO, National Defence & Border Security
"There were bigger caliber rounds that were being approved other than 223. But the.223 specifically was demonized. We as a board decided to ask why, why, why the moratorium? The only explanation we could get was that there was a temporary moratorium until an audit was done. So then we said, okay, what's the status of the audit? Crickets. "
"There was an audit conducted about the status of it, along with the, all parties concerned, it was never finalized. "
"And and, this isn't the board seeing that, oh, okay, every Jack Jill and Suzy has now come apply for a rifle. No. There are very legitimate reasons why people want to apply for these caliber rifles. And this was really the catalyst that changed or pushed us in the direction of this decision. The Cattle Farmers Association reached out to us. And I hope he doesn't mind that I call his name Mr. William Usher specifically."
"And he showed us some documentation of videos and pictures of the cattle farmers being basically destroyed by coyotes. So there's a very serious coyote problem in the cattle farming industry. And the coyotes have a, a keen sense of smell. So the smaller caliber, you can't get close enough to shoot them with a shotgun. The 22 rifles weren't big enough to even affect them, and the 223 rifle wasn't allowed. And the 223 ammunition wasn't allowed. They came to us with all of the relevant documentation, and they came those with a very legitimate reason for us to lift this, moratorium. So it's not us, relaxing the criteria for getting one of them. We will still be very, we will scrutinize everything very keenly. But those that have a legitimate reason, like the cattle farmers who are really under duress right now."
"The coyotes aren't natural to Belize. They're coming over from Mexico and from Guatemala and and feasting on our cattle. So we're trying to help them out."
"I know that there was one incident, where I believe it was, you know, after a funeral, tempers were flaring and someone pulled out a 223, and he didn't fire any rounds. But that was a licensed rifle. So in situations like that. Absolutely. We would not, well, we would immediately have to take away that license from the individual. But also those aren't the the types of conditions that we would award a license. It's particularly for legitimate like the farming."
Jules Vasquez:
"It seemed that licenses for 223 rifles were being issued indiscriminately, and that they had ended up as expensive toys, expensive and dangerous toys in the back seats of, fancy vehicles, you know, at a at a funeral where there's a, family dispute, that licenses have been given out indiscriminately. "
"You say all right, we're doing it for farmers for a specific reason. But inevitably, because these are sought after weapons, these are status weapons for people who like to pretend to be dangerous."
"How will you all ensure that it does not end up in that space again, where civilians who only use it for the glamor, the the perceived glamor of violence will be seeking out these licenses."
Francis Usher, CEO, National Defence & Border Security
"It is every bit these yarns right to apply. But I can tell you that if there is not a legitimate reason, the current board will not approve for glamor reasons, any high powered rifle, any, anything of the sort. We have been very careful in reviewing every single application. And I can tell you many applications have come in with, with high level recommendations that we have denied because we didn't feel that the justification given was legitimate."
Jules Vasquez:
"What constitutes and the thinking of the board, a legitimate reason to request a license for a point 223 rifle?"
Francis Usher, CEO, National Defence & Border Security
"So in the case of the 0.223 firearm, it would have to be in the realm of, you're a farmer that you have a, pest problem. You would have to be, a hunter because there are some. And you would have to justify that the type of, game that you hunt. And typically that's not in Belize. I'm just saying, in the realm of what would be, legitimate in my mind, or there are some sport shooters, people that are a part of shooting clubs where the shooting club would say like, hey, he shoots for us. And those are the types of long range rounds that they do sport shooting with. I would say those are probably legitimate reasons, but each one would be scrutinized each one would be, carefully looked at, and then we would, deliberate and see if it's warranted of issuing a license for that firearm or ammunition."
