(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) The National Assembly voted into a law the unlicensed firearms and ammunition collection bill in its second reading in its regular session on Tuesday.
The lawmakers voted on the bill after receiving a report from a joint parliamentary panel comprising members of the Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee and the Interior and Defense Affairs Committee that was formed earlier today to consider a number of amendments introduced by several MPs envisaging tougher penalties.
The approved law stipulates that anyone possessing unlicensed firearms and ammunition could be jailed for five years and be fined by up to KD 10,000 or one of the two penalties.
It also increases the jail time to ten years and the upper limits on fine to KD 50,000 for anyone who deals (i.e. buying or selling) in unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
The law allows police, after taking proper authorization from the public prosecutor, to search any public location and private or public vehicles if there was cause to believe the existence of unlicensed or unlawful firearms or ammunition.
It also stipulates that people with unlicensed firearms and ammunition who choose to hand them in to authorities would be exempted from punishment. Such people have four months from the time this law is in effect to hand in their unlicensed weapons to be considered for exemption.
For his part, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, as he attended the National Assembly session today, assured the MPs and the public that law enforcers will show due respect to the society traditions and the Islamic teachings during the inspection raids.
He added that there will be female law enforcement personnel who will search for unlicensed firearms and ammunition inside the homes of Kuwaiti citizens, in the event the latter did not feel comfortable with male ones entering their homes with women inside them.
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