Some in Government are calling for a gun amnesty after the shooting of Richard Gaglio in his home last week, but the public say that the move will have little real impact.

Neville Latham said that the amnesty will do nothing to improve the Island's legal system.

"They don't get charged anyway," said Mr. Latham. "They don't get caught. They should just make guns legal, so that the next thing you know, we'll be the next Haiti."

Otto Washington agrees that action needs to be taken to combat gun violence, but argued that the people responsible for the violence are not likely to turn in their weapons.

"They've got to do something about that. It's worth a try, but criminals are not going to hand in their guns."

His opinion was a popular one, supported by a number of those questioned.

"People aren't going to come in with guns," said Edward Araujo, who suggested that better Police work was the answer to getting guns off the street.

"Just look out for people acting suspiciously," he said.

Jerome Smith said: "It's a good idea. It's always a good idea. I doubt that people will give in guns though.

"The guns are here. How do we get them off the streets? I don't know."

"The criminals aren't going to give up guns, only the people who have them for protection," said Quintin Bins. "They need to harden up the laws and make parents responsible for their children"

Reid Selley also doubted the possible effect of the amnesty.

"There are too many guns already. It's not going to work," he said.

Roberta James-Simmons was reminded of the last gun amnesty, which resulted in only a handful of guns being turned over, along with a few other illegal items such as blades and flares.

"We've had that before, and how many guns did we get? Ten?" she said.

Mrs. James-Simmons said that the bigger problem was the weapons entering the Island, saying: "They're not dropping out of the sky."

Ashley Conyers meanwhile disputed the idea that Customs is to blame.

"You would have to have a team to search every single container. It's impossible," she said.

While she thought the amnesty could do the community good, she also expressed doubts that the people involved in violence would surrender their guns.

And the public, she said, is still unwilling to get involved.

"It's such a small Island," she said. "Nobody wants to say anything.