– weapons fall under prohibited category in Firearms Act

ATTORNEY-General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall has warned that the sale, purchase, acquisition or possession of taser guns without the requisite authority could constitute a criminal offence under Guyana’s Firearms Act.
Nandlall made the statement during his weekly programme, “Issues in the News”, during which he responded to reports of taser equipment being sold at certain commercial establishments in Guyana.
“If that is ongoing in Guyana, let me say that it is absolutely unlawful, and constitutes a criminal offence under the Firearms Act of Guyana,” Nandlall said.
He pointed specifically to Section 32 of the Firearms Act, which he said prohibits persons from manufacturing, selling, transferring, purchasing, acquiring or possessing certain firearms or weapons without the authority of the Minister.
According to the Attorney-General, tasers fall within the category of prohibited weapons contemplated by the legislation, particularly the provision relating to weapons designed or adapted to discharge a “noxious liquid, gas, or other thing”.
Nandlall argued that the reference to “other thing” could encompass the electrical current discharged by a taser.
“I am of the considered view that taser and taser weapons and taser guns fall into Category B and/or C of the prohibition stated in Section 32 of the Firearms Act,” he said.
In explaining his interpretation, Nandlall pointed to a decision of the English Divisional Court which dealt with similar wording in the United Kingdom’s Firearms Act of 1968.
He said the English legislation contained language identical to Guyana’s provision, and that the court found that a weapon designed to cause injury through a flow of electricity could fall within the prohibition where the electrical discharge could reasonably be regarded as a noxious thing.
Nandlall said the position is further supported by Guyana’s Police Amendment Act of 2021, which introduced a definition of “less lethal weapons” into the Police Act.
That definition includes conducted electrical weapons, including tasers and stun guns, alongside other equipment such as batons, chemical irritants, kinetic impact projectiles and water cannons.
To this end, the Attorney-General indicated that the Police Act being amended to specifically provide for police use of tasers reinforces the interpretation that members of the general public do not automatically have legal authority to possess such weapons.
“The reasoning is: If the police had to get an amendment of the Police Act to use taser guns and equipment listed here, it applies a fortiori. It applies with greater force that the layman do not have the legal authority to possess such a weapon,” he said.
Against this backdrop, he highlighted the penalties he said are attached to breaches of Section 32, including fines and imprisonment.
The legislation provides for a fine of between $50,000 and $100,000, together with imprisonment of between three and six years on summary conviction, while conviction on indictment could attract imprisonment of between 10 and 50 years.
As such, Nandlall stated that this legal position should, therefore, be considered by persons involved in the sale, purchase or possession of taser equipment in Guyana.