The former mayor of Arima Ghassan Youseph has called on the Government to consider allowing citizens to arm themselves following the murder of gyro businessman Elias Dabbourah.
However, president of the Tobago Chamber of the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce Diane Hadad does not agree.
Dabbourah was Tobago’s 2019 seventh murder victim, after he was shot in the head during an armed robbery at his business place last week.
“We are in a war, right now the criminals have declared war in Trinidad,” Youseph told Guardian Media, adding that the “war” must be fought on many different fronts as he contended that the police cannot fight it on their own.
“All parts of the world the conventional armed forces cannot deal with a war, you need reserves. We the people can be the reserve to combat this menace that we have.”
He said many criteria must set before any citizen can be armed.
“People who desire firearms must have good character and they must be trained,” he said.
However, the Tobago Chamber president does not agree.
Hadad is advocating spreading more love in the country.
“We need to take a serious look at where our collective thoughts are before we have a discussion on guns,” Hadad told Guardian Media.
She added: “The mood of the country already has enough anger. It already has enough hate and needs to come to a point of more caring and love. If we can get to that point by all our leaders first setting the stage and coming down into our communities and families or whether the reverse, then I think that is the energy that needs to be spread throughout the country.”
She said if this is done then there will be no need to discuss gun ownership.
Hadad, who attended the murdered businessman’s funeral on Wednesday said the incident was “ sad” and “senselessness.”
Police investigations continue in the businessman’s murder.