There was support among many gathered at the Tacarigua Racket Centre for the Stand Your Ground legislation, as the consultations took place there Tuesday evening.
Two victims of home invasions shared their experiences, and in both cases, they pointed to a disappointing response from the police.
00:00No duty to retreat in your own home. The ability to stand your ground and use lethal force if needs be.
00:08That's what a 10-closed stand-your-ground legislation provides for.
00:12Attorney at Law Kalina Maharaj outlines that there are parameters for the use of force against a home invader.
00:19When he or she reasonably believes force is being used against them or another person,
00:25reasonably believes his or her life or another is in imminent danger,
00:30believes that his or her actions are necessary for protection,
00:34uses force proportionate to the perceived threat.
00:38There are different conditions for when lethal force is used.
00:42The law does not provide us to become the wild, wild west.
00:45I don't want the law to be abused.
00:48So we need to keep that in mind.
00:50Keep in mind that the use of deadly force is only justified if the occupant reasonably believes it is necessary
00:58to prevent imminent death, grievous bodily harm, sexual assault or rape.
01:04Nadia Lambert-Britto, a victim of a home invasion, says it's not about a country becoming a wild, wild west.
01:11A gunman, she states, entered her bedroom in broad daylight.
01:14My partner was lying next to me, and at the spur of the moment, all I could have done was run.
01:25My grandmom ran straight out of the house.
01:29Because all I remember is seeing a man with a gun coming towards me.
01:33I lost my baby.
01:39My partner at the time struggled with the person, and the gun fell.
01:46She says police later recovered the firearm at her home and a piece of clothing.
01:51The police say they know exactly who the person was, because that person was accustomed.
01:57Wearing that rag with a fisherman hat on his head.
02:00Up to this day, nothing was done.
02:04The police never came back.
02:07My family never got counseling.
02:09To this day, I cannot sleep with my bedroom door closed.
02:13Open, sorry.
02:15From the moment someone touches me, from the moment my husband touches me, I can sleep when I jump up.
02:22One attorney, who is also a former chairman of the Greater Tunapuna Chamber of Industry and Commerce, says he was also a victim of a home invasion in April 2024 and was forced to retreat.
02:33Two MTS officers were passing at the time, coming off duty, and they assisted to apprehend the person.
02:45And then the police came and took the guy to Tunapuna Police Station.
02:51And then on Monday at lunchtime, that same man was robbing a little boy of his computer and his school bag in the Savannah here.
02:59He's calling for more serious penalties for kidnapping and extortion as well.
03:05Minister of Legal Affairs Saddam Hussein expresses confidence that the draft bill will become low.
03:11So if bandits enter your house tonight, don't tell them the bill is low yet.
03:16We will make it low.
03:17We will make it low.
03:19We have the majority.
03:20We have the majority in the lower House of Parliament, and we will convince the Senate that we require the majority upstairs in order to get this law passed.
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