By Sue-Ann Wayow
OPPOSITION Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar will not be apologising for her comments made on her proposed Stand Your Ground laws.
Defending her statements made on Monday night, she repeated them on Thursday saying that all rights to criminals must end when they step foot in citizens’ homes.
Speaking at a political meeting at Palms Club San Fernando, she told supporters, “I will absolutely not apologise for the words ’empty the clip’. I will not apologise for that. So if you looking for that, you will not be getting that apology from me.”
Persad-Bissessar said, “I want to make one thing very clear concerning my comments to light up the criminals who invade your homes. I apologise… to absolutely no one for saying to light up the criminals who are invading homes, killing mercilessly and forcing you to live in fear!”
She spoke about Trinibad music, a local genre of music that influences the behaviour of youth because it speaks the language that young people can relate to saying she had to speak the language of what citizens today can relate to.
Persad-Bissessar said should they get back in Central Government, one of the first items on their legislative agenda would be to implement Stand Your Ground laws.
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Quoting from a Trinibad song to much applause, Persad-Bissessar said, “You have to load up the matic, you have to pull it back, you have to knock it on dem, and then knock it again when the criminals are coming through your doors of your home.”
She said, “I am standing my ground for the ordinary citizens of our land.”
“They torture and kill you and then say I am reckless for saying Light them up? Criminals rights should cease to exist when they enter and invade your homes,” Persad-Bissessar said.
Several clips of crime being committed were shown while she was speaking and she asked what do citizens do when placed in a situation where they could be robbed, brutalised or killed.
To all those who are against the issuing of legal firearms and Stand Your Ground laws, she said she had a simple message.
The message was do not apply for a firearm, do not stand your ground, take off the burglar proof from your house and remove all your security cameras.
“The UNC will stand for you and protect you and who vex loss!” Persad-Bissessar said.
She again listed out proposed measures by her party to deal with crime both at a Central Government and Local Government level.
There is culture when you are in Opposition they call for change.
In 2010 they said similar statements and when they got into Govt they could not deliver
Déjà Vu.