Rohan Hall, a councilor and a ruling Jamaica Labour Party member, applied for a firearm license. And the Minister of National Security and the Fire Arm Licensing Authority (FLA) declared him unfit for a gun license. Hall questioned the grounds for denial.
He raised his concerns in brief filed in the Supreme Court on Thursday, October 13, 2022. Hall is asking the court to review Minister Chang’s decision to determine how he arrived at a decision declaring him “unfit” for a gun license.
Hall argued that the JLP has never raised any issues concerning his integrity and conduct. Hall is a building contractor and principal owner of Wonderland Construction Limited.
Nevertheless, minister Chang, who also holds the deputy prime minister post, has contended that the FLA’s vetting process and the one the party uses to vet potential candidates are not similar.
“It is a different ballgame. I don’t mix the two. He’s a councillor, but the Firearm Authority and the review panel did not find it appropriate. That’s it. And I don’t intervene in these things,” Chang said.
Hall has been applying to the FLA for a gun license since 2017. And the police have since conducted at least two investigations over the last seven years related to Hall’s application for a gun license. The FLA usually relies on the findings of the NIB to inform its decisions.
Hall charged that minister Chang “breached” the principles of natural justice and procedural fairness by failing to convene a hearing before making his decision. He also claims that Chang failed to disclose all the documents used to arrive at his conclusion.
This article was sourced from the Jamaica
JLP councilor hauls Chang to court after gun permit denied. https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20221025/jlp-councillor-hauls-chang-court-after-gun-permit-denied