out of my cold dead hands

The monthly "temporary" exception to the law gives authorities the excuse to impound your carried weapon even with a legal carry permit.
This arbitrary decree doctored by a phony gallup poll is just the "first step" towards disarming the
honest tax paying citizens that try to survive in a society where many well armed military and police are corrupt and criminals are abounding with all kinds of weapons home made or bought in the black market that imports from the near by narco state of Haiti.
Some military and police even have the custom to "rent" their weapons to criminals temporarily to
increase their income.
In January you will probably see another "convenient" gallup poll that cites the many benefits from this now temporary ban and extend the prohibition indefinitely.
This is a poorly devised attempt against the law abiding citizens that own guns for sport, collection or self protection disguised as a bland effort to stop crime.

I agree that the carry law must be amended to stop the useless and unnecessary displaying of pistols and revolvers by civilians, military and off duty police in an EXHIBITIONARY mode on their pants belt.
If guns are carried by civilians with a legal carry permit then they must be "concealed" from plain sight,
that's when the term "concealed weapon permit" comes from and this is what should be noted and amended under the present law.
If this "plan" to disarm the law abiding citizen with a legal carry permit continues then I suspect the most scary machinations by a public official that follows the thought of the "Inquisition's" inquisior general Torquemada in his drastic, grossly unpopular and undemocratic decrees.
If the government thinks they can dupe the population into disarmament for who knows
what "dark" goals they will wake up one day sadly out of office in their blind snafu.
One day the wet dream goes "the military will be unarmed and they will all be teachers as well".

Amazing the consistency of the postings...

Anyhow, I know people, respectable business owners, who after a night out with some hoochie, showoff their guns just for kicks and giggles. In the Capital, last year, a yahoo outside a bar in Gazcue, pulled out his gun, and there goes off a shot!!! Thankully noone was hurt, but they could have.

But to make this feasible... WE NEED TO INCREASE SECURITY. Better (honest) policing, with a wide presence would make ME feel safer, and may allow others to feel more comfortable from carrying a gun.

W/o security, people will be hesitant to leaving their guns behind.

So let me understand this- You have a legal permit to "carry your weapon" and it now means nothing. How about if the stop and check, if you have a permit you go on your way, if not confiscate the weapon and pay a fine.

This move is an about preventing a violent revolution when the new economic realities set in...
A shit storm is approaching


WAKE UP PEOPLE

Never owned a gun. Never wanted a gun Never held a gun. Thank G-d never needed a gun. Eliminate the guns on the street and make sure that violators do heavy prison time and you will take the first step towards make this a much safer place to live. If your response is "then only the criminals will have guns" then help to get the police the salaries they deserve and they will then be willing to enforce the law.

How is it possible that in England the police don't carry guns? Very Simple answer. The poplulation knows that if caught with a gun the penalties are severe.


Caught with a gun? Five years in prison without parole. Now you want to carry an illegal gun?

The right to bear arms in the DR comes from a long history of freedom fights and conquest of citizens rights.
During Trujillo you could not own a handgun, shotgun or air rifle unless you were a crony of the dictator and had his personal blessing. Even so ammunition was tightly controlled.
Afterwards with the advent of democratic governments after 1962 citizens that were hungry to enjoy citizens rights as well as enjoy guns for sports, personal protection or collection purchased and paid unusually high taxes for the right to keep and bear arms.
In the farms or "campos" the sole possession of a firearm denotes that "you have arrived" and that you have "respect" because of your accomplishments. This is an ethnic trait that comes from way back.
There are numerous conditions and psychiatric tests in place in DR that must qualify you before you purchase a firearm. It cost over US$160 a year to possess or a carry permit for an individual, a tax that the state has hungrily enjoyed.

A Dominican carrying a gun (legal or not) is like a child with matches and a can of gas... it's just dangerous. Won't say all Dominicans but definitely most of those carrying guns are immature and uneducated show-offs.

'Manuel Maria Mercedes, called on the citizens to ignore the measure, describing it as “unconstitutional and illegal."

There will obviously be repercussions to the above statement especially if individuals resist the ban or as GC said 'out of my cold dead hands" .

Withe the trigger happy cops here who shoot first and ask questions later best leave your gun at home. Don't give them an excuse to kill you..

You need proof that disarming the citizenry is a good idea? Hippolito just announced that he is against the idea. There you have proof positive from a man that has never been right about anything.

tejada
Then they need to be educated by taking a required gun owners course as well as a target range
certification with specialized instructors that will qualify them for use, like in all civilized societies.
If they want to prevent the historical and cowboy custom of shooting bullets up in the air for celebration purposes then they should increase the availability of cheap blank bullets readily available for those that want to do that. This will prevent the hail of bullets raining down on you on New Years day. I don't agree with that archaic custom but prohibition and ban of firearms is not the cure for the wave of criminality and irresponsible and illegal gun ownership sweeping the country.
Disarm the criminals first and not the law abiding citizen protecting his home and livelihood.

Juanb,

The police in the UK do carry weapons, not all but they do. They are under their tunics and not displayed in public view.

Well from my limited Law Enforcement experience (29 years).

1. Criminals will not turn a gun in or worry about being caught with one. Most cases in the DR where PN recovers a gun and no other crime is involved. Just illegal weapons possession, the criminal just walks away and the cops just made $20,00 pesos when they sell the gun. If they arrest the guy their Capt or Coronel get the gun.
2. Out of all the places I have lived, NY, ALASKA, NJ, VIRGINIA, WASH DC, CALIFORNIA.
The DR is the place where persons with carry permits were most able to fend off, repel, or kill their attackers, mostly due to the high crime rates.

Statistc show that someone getting hurt in the gun owners household is more likely than avoiding a crime. In the DR criminals know that most men who own a vehicle or house also have a gun. Yet they attack them every day. They target police, military and security guards just to steal the weapon.

CarlosFranco:

Agree 100% with you this is not about protecting the people in DR is mostly to prevent the upcoming revolution that Dominicans will follow after current goverment screw everything
up to the point that nobody would be able to live in peace, PLD is just playing dumb to assi
milate people into their hidden agenda. Freddy Beras Goico is right about not being weak
and coward facing criminals.

So when you let crminals know that no one with a legal permit will be armed during the busiest time of the year and when the most money is circulating, doble-sueldo, money from NY, visitors.

You have just removed the barb wire fence protecting the sheep. Do you really think the PD can catch the wolves.

ALEMEYDA ES UN IDIOTA, and his ideas are coming out of the wrong end of his body.

ABR23
Those statistics you mention reveal that robbers that break into your house and you pull a gun on them, unless you are committed and resolute to using it and do not do it, they will take the gun away from you and shoot you with it.
Like all professor type bureaucrats that legislate from their desk with simplistic measures that just serve as an irritant to the already burdened population with all the problems that affect us on a daily basis. This mental giant does not listen to the messages that he receives on a daily basis because of his intolerant know it all attitude.
This particular trait that made Balaguer label them "come solos" because of their predestined attachment to power and selfishness sharing the honeys of power even with their other political allies that did not form part of their exclusive "clique" was the sole ingredient that made the citizens elect the clown idiot of Hipoloco Mejia out of despair and soreness for the PLD's pompousity and their intolerance.

clown idiot is to kind for that guy

I agree, but the big story is the guy that kills one robber every one remembers that. They wrongly believe they too will be that lucky, when in fact they will likely warn the guy and be scared to shoot or use the gun. Many PD's policy of not pulling out a gun until the threat is at the lethal force level. But a cop is trained to shoot /don't shoot.

I had two Doctor friends that wanted to learn how to shoot and have a gun. This before mandatory training was required to purchase a weapon. I did a good job of showing safety, made them buy locks, showed them stories of kids, wifes, feuds and guns.

The last exercise was. Put the gun down. Now you crazy M___R F_____R hit me in the face. Like you mean it. Slapped me like a girl. I punched him in the chest, that he fell, gasping. That is how serious you have to be, no warning shots, if you take it out be ready: to shoot, to kill, no leg wounds etc. I do not want him to render his version of events, 2 to the body 1 to the head.

ABR23
That is called the Guatemalan special two shots to the body and make sure you break bones and one between the eyes.
Gun training and weapon handling is essential. Most security guards and police specially in DR even if they are ex- law enforcement or military do not handle guns properly and can not hit the side of a barn if their life depended on it. That makes guys that are trained in anti-kidnapping and self defense in a much superior tactical advantage.
Police are not provided regular weapons training or required target shooting certification every so
often and are deficient and blunder when confronted by a skilled well trained opponent and makes the confrontation a no contest.
That is why I am not really that worried about the stupid ban. In case of need there are many guns
readily available out there ready to be "borrowed".

texasshoe
let me paint a picture for you of the ban so you will understand:
There are about 200,000 guns or more with legal permits. The government licenses them on a yearly basis and the cost of licenses fluctuate depending on the type of weapon. Let's say for expediency sake that they pay an average of RD$3500 pesos a year. Multiply that times 200M= RD$700 million pesos a year or about US$20 million. That that's a lot of change and the government does not want to give that up. Now the cost of a handgun in DR goes from a low of US$1,000 dollars to an average of US$2,000 for a nice glock. Multiply that. Now to all those people that the government has issued
and have paid for their possession or carry permit the government minister in charge of Interior and Police has a mood change and a change of heart and whimsically decrees AFTER you paid your yearly renewal that you can't carry your gun or transport in your car unless is locked up and with no bullets otherwise they will impound

it and throw you in the slammer for fire arms violation.
Now this stupid and ambivalent decree is very much set for "discretional interpretation" by our
always honest and law abiding police officers that when they see a gun they see an opportunity to make themselves a quick RD$40 grand reselling it or keeping it instead of their probably all shattered and loose shooting iron.
So who is to swear that you had the gun locked up in the glove compartment even if you did?
Why on earth would you want to carry a gun with no bullets and locked up in the glove compartment in the first place? Unless it is to transport from one place to another.
As part of the program they do regular daily and nightly police searches on the streets and highways. Those are tecnically unconstitutional because it restricts your right of free circulation.
Four cops wave you to stop and frisk your car without a warrant looking for weapons, if they find any you better have a good lawyer, permit or no permit.

Blind justice? or more like not wanting to enforce the gun laws? or protect yourself but make sure you conceal your weapons? no crackdown for now, i think this is a trial test.

Generoso,

That was exactly my point. There is a mechinsim in place to register and abide by the law and all of the sudden there is this magical mandate and poof, everybody is supposed to comply wheather they are in compliance legally or not. I would imagine that most barrios in the DR and police who patrol (used loosely) know who the bad guys are and who is packing heat illegally. Unfortunatly they are also the ones providing the police with daily / weekly bonuses that supplement the meager wage that they earn. Bottom line, it should come from the police to enforce the rules that are already on the books and quit making up new ones that make everyone pay a price for something they have already paid for.

good, may God bless Dominican Republic!!!!!

Those who carry guns to defend themselves rarely use it or have time to use it.
Read the news.
"He got shot and the took away the gun that he was carrying legally"
This happens everyday.
The thugs who are terrifying the people killing and maiming them are well known in the communities whrere the do their dirty work.
They are well known by the police and their activities are routinely reported to the proper authorities,They do not hide their faces nor work in the cover of the night
They are not afraid of anyone when they are corned by the authorities the shoot at them.They control the country.
This simplistic measure of banning the carrying of weapons is just another excercise in futility.
Some people can not live live in a democratic society.You see any crime in Cuba ? You hear of any criminals going around shooting at innocent peolple or at police.
Try this in Cuba if you can!
Bring the capital punishment -you will see how fast these thugs will turn into choir

there is no law that has favor the massess in i guess hmm maybe never.
read between the line and you will find out the reasons for this law whatever you want to call it.

now criminals you guys have the right away do as you please