Dealers oppose gun bill

A new bill requiring more disclosure on who is buying guns is being opposed by dealers making the same argument the NRA does in the U.S.. In a country where a dictator ruled only a few short years ago, many citizens have guns and the last thing they want to do is to have the government know who has what. If the citizens of Panama had been well armed, I doubt if the goon squads of Noriega would have been nearly as effective in controlling the country. How quickly we forget.

Ministro de Gobierno y Justicia, Daniel Delgado Diamante, met with stakeholders in the firearms industry yesterday to discuss the government's plan to more closely regulate guns.

And, needless to say, the industry has not been overly receptive to the proposed changes.

Delgado explained that the proposal does not attempt to affect the legal sale of firearms, but to better track who is buying them.

Firearms dealers, however, are still critical of the bill.

Edmundo Sanson, of Parabellum Sport, said the bill will not make it harder for criminals to get guns. But it will make it more expensive for law-abiding citizens to purchase them.

"The criminals are not going to abide by these requirements," Sanson said. "But there will be more requirements for current permit holders and others who want to buy a gun legally."

Sanson pointed out that the government has not yet announced the fees associated with the new regulations, but he expects them to be expensive.