In the capital city of St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, Prime Minister Gaston Browne has brought urgent attention to growing brazenness among gun-wielding criminals during parliamentary debate over the proposed Firearms (Amendment) Bill 2026, urging lawmakers to adopt harsher regulatory measures to crack down on rising gun crime and repeat offenders.
Browne told parliament that criminal actors have grown so emboldened by weak current enforcement that they are openly flouting the law by posting photos and videos of their illegal firearms on public social media platforms, alongside making violent threats against potential victims. The prime minister confirmed that he had personally viewed multiple instances of this dangerous behavior, including one new posting that appeared just hours before the parliamentary sitting began.
“Up to this morning, another one was posted,” Browne said during the debate. “This individual is talking about wanting to kidnap people and torture them. That type of violent rhetoric simply cannot be allowed to slide without consequences.” The prime minister emphasized that any public statements or posts that threaten violence or display illegal firearms demand immediate intervention from national law enforcement agencies. “Police have a responsibility to take that person into custody and investigate,” he told assembled lawmakers.
Browne’s comments frame the wider push for legislative change: he argues that authorities must respond with far greater firmness to a documented upward trend of increasingly aggressive criminal behavior connected to illegal gun possession. The proposed amendments under discussion would introduce significantly stiffer legal penalties for individuals convicted of firearms-related offences, sending a stronger deterrent to would-be offenders. During the ongoing debate, Browne also floated the possibility of adding specific provisions targeting the public display of firearms online as part of the government’s comprehensive strategy to curb gun-related violence across the country.