Caribbean leaders agree on plan to ban assault-style weapons

Associated Press

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — Caribbean Community leaders have agreed on plans to introduce bans in their countries on assault-style weapons to curb spikes in gun violence and weapons smuggling in the 15-nation Caricom bloc. The decision came late Tuesday at the end of a two-day summit in Trinidad on crime. The leaders would institue the bans through a mix of licensing requirements and legislation. The Caribbean leaders had called a roundtable on the issue amid complaints from several governments about an increase in gangland violence, bolstered by the availability of high-powered, military-style weapons smuggled mostly from the U.S.