like a dangerous precedent. Mr. Jones was arrested at the Civil Air Terminal after he allegedly brought into Bermuda a hand gun and 14 rounds of ammunition.

This is not the first time in the past few months that guns have been stopped at the Airport and the other people responsible for those guns have been charged. That makes us wonder why Mr. Jones was given a break. It may be that he received some support from United States authorities since the champion boxer was in Bermuda to help coach a US Navy boxing team. Or it could be that sport has some mystique and it was thought that a champion boxer had no bad intent with the gun. To his credit, it does seem that Mr. Jones declared to Customs Officers and to Police that the gun might be in his luggage and he had not packed his own suitcase.

However what concerns us most is that Bermuda should be kept free of guns.

Some years ago judges in Bermuda quite rightly came down hard on drug importers. Our judges made it very clear that if you were caught importing drugs, no matter what the excuse, then you were going to be dealt with severely. We think that sent a strong message and was one of the reasons Bermuda did not become a major destination for importing and trans-shipping drugs.

As we see it, the situation is very similar with guns. We must be tough or we encourage importation.

If we accept the excuses, "I didn't know,'' "It's not mine,'' "Someone else packed it,'' "It was given to me as a wedding present,'' "I forgot I had it in my bag,'' or anything like that, then we open Bermuda to importation of guns. Those excuses simply allow gun importers to try their luck. If they get away with it, then there are guns in Bermuda which can be sold at a good profit. If they get caught, it does not matter because they only get warned.

Those who make a mistake and arrive with drugs they did not set out to bring to Bermuda suffer along with everyone else. Surely the same must be true of guns, whether or not the gun is licensed in the United States.

People argue that guns are prevalent in the United States and it is not surprising that some people arrive in Bermuda with them. The same could, of course, be argued about drugs. But we find it very hard to believe that people set out on an overseas trip without knowing that they have a firearm. In any case, airlines more often than not these days ask about such things as weapons and whether or not you packed your own bag. They ask the latter, of course, because they do not want someone else putting a bomb in your baggage.

Bermudians know the advantages of a society where guns are not a common weapon. We do not think Bermudians want guns here and we do think they want gun importers dealt with firmly. The message sent by a warning to Mr. Jones is wrong.