The Firearms and Ammunition Control Board-known as the FACB-has received a sharp judicial reprimand from the High Court of Belize following a series of procedural missteps, unlawful refusals, and statutory breaches in its handling of gun dealer and instructor licenses.
In a judgment delivered by High Court Judge Rajiv Goonetilleke, the court ruled that the FACB violated the constitutional rights of well-known gun dealer, Lock N Loaded Guns and Ammunition, and its director, Abner Murillo. The court ordered the State to pay compensatory damages to the business and quashed key decisions made by the regulatory body.
The newly formed regulatory board declared in January 2024 that December 2023 licenses were null and void. However, the FACB wrongly applied this declaration to Lock N Loaded's Belmopan dealership license-which had been lawfully issued in August 2023 and was valid through December 2024. When issuing a replacement license in 2024, the FACB omitted authority for the business to sell.223-caliber rifles, leaving the owners in a kind of commercial limbo.
The judge declared that this administrative lapse infringed the claimants' constitutional right to protection of the law under Section 3(a) of the Belize Constitution.
The court also scolded the FACB for refusing Abner Murillo's Firearm Safety Instructor's License in 2024 without providing reasons for doing so.
Justice Goonetilleke issued an order of mandamus ordering the FACB to reconsider Murillo's application within 30 days and provide written reasons if it is refused again.
To mark the constitutional infringement, the High Court ordered the Attorney General to pay $5,000 BZD in compensatory damages to each of the two claimants for distress and inconvenience. Additionally, the court ordered the defendants to pay 50% of the claimants' legal costs.
Abner Murillo and Lock N Loaded were represented by Senior Counsel Anand Ramlogan alongside attorneys Estevan Perera and Jared Jagroo. Representing the Firearms and Ammunition Control Board and the Attorney General, Crown Counsel Jarvis Lou appeared alongside Ms. Stephanie Gillett.
