On Monday The Star reported an incident in which a gunman who attempted to rob an off-duty policeman was killed by the cop in the ensuing shoot-out. It is a familiar pattern whereby thugs threaten people who they do not know are armed and get the biggest (and final) surprise of their lives.

In this case, it was a policeman, someone trained in the use of firearms, but in other cases it has been private citizens who are licensed to carry weapons.

Carry guns legally

It makes a very good case for allowing more people to carry guns legally, as it would appear that many of the gunmen who wreak havoc in our society prey upon the helpless, but when they are faced with the slightest competent opposition, they come up very short.

It can be argued, on the other hand, however, that the more firearms there are in the society, the greater the possibility of killings due to carelessness or sheer rage.

Still, Jamaica is fast approaching the point where we shall have to make a decision if we are going to leave the majority of hard-working, law-abiding citizens to the mercies of the gunmen as they wait on an unreliable police response, or put their trust in one of the private security systems.

The powers that be will have to take a long, hard look at the process of granting firearm licences, balancing the proliferation of arms against the very survival of the law-abiding.

Because right now, the proliferation of weapons is definitely on the side of the criminals.