In order to better understand the effects of Jamaican firearm legislation, an overview of the political aspects of firearm violence in a societal context is provided for the period 1940 through the early 1980s. Although the legislative solution to firearm violence appeared sound in theory, it did not work well in practice. Instead, the problem of firearm violence increased because elected officials continued to politicize firearm usage and the number of attacks on political party supporters increased. The GCA functioned for the duration of the 2-party system and the social institutions of post-colonial Jamaica which used the legislation to control the politicized lower classes and partisan conflicts. A lack of radical reform led to the selective enforcement of the act against only those unprotected by political connections. Thus, issues regarding class division, political ideology, and current party politics need to be considered in the evaluation of the impact of crime and dependency within developing nations. 3 notes and 41 references