Riders who repeatedly refuse to ditch their tinted helmet visors will suffer the harsh realities of the law.This is the warning from National Security Minister Wayne Perinchief who is vowing to get tough on riders who try to flout the new law.The ban on tinted visors looks set to be the first in a raft of new laws being brought in to stop Bermuda’s worsening gun crime. It is expected to stop criminals concealing their identity, as many murders on our streets have been ride-by shootings.Five men have been shot dead in Bermuda so far this year a total of 16 since May 2009. The ban will “apply to all, without exceptions” but there is likely to be a phasing-in period rather than an immediate outright ban.This means police will initially give out warnings to those with tinted visors, but if they refuse to change their visors they will then be punished.Mr Perinchief said he hoped the new law would “up the ante” against gang members committing crimes on our streets.He said: “There will initially have to be plenty of publicity so people get the message. We will have to get the word out there with advertisements that this is what is happening so that everyone knows.“Initially I would expect the police to stop people and advise them not to use tinted visors. But anyone who doesn’t get the message will then have to suffer the consequences.”It is not yet clear whether those who continue to wear helmets with dark visors will face on-the-spot fines or court prosecutions of either fines or penalty points.But Mr Perinchief says he is confident that nine out of ten people will comply, for the sake of making their community safer.Despite people saying tinted visors help to shield their eyes from the sunlight, it is said to be a small sacrifice to make to help try to identify the gang members.Mr Perinchief said: “Those who don’t comply will have to pay the price. It’s not only a traffic offence but may also suggest they are going to commit a crime where they want their identity concealed.”Mr Perinchief announced his plans to ban tinted visors alongside Police Commissioner Michael DeSilva at a public meeting at the Devonshire Seventh-day Adventist Church last Thursday. The other proposals he plans to put before Cabinet include sending convicted gangsters to overseas jails, imposing stiffer sentences for gun possession and consecutive, rather than concurrent, prison terms for multiple offences.It comes just a couple of weeks after anti-gang organisations Colford’s Family Against Violence and Help Save Our Bermuda began an online petition against tinted visors. At the time of going to press yesterday nearly 365 had signed the petition.“The increase in the shooting incidents have brought this idea with the hope that assailants’ faces being visible to others would hopefully dissuade the culprits from taking action,” the petition reads.Last month community activist Gina Spence also called for a tinted visor ban saying allowing only helmets with clear visors would “create an immediate challenge” to gang members.Mr Perinchief spoke to Transport Minister Terry Lister on Friday and they have agreed to “get the ball rolling” on the new law.He said: “The Minister of Transport is on board with this. They know what needs to be done and together we will move forward. We are working as a team and in that respect, I am confident it will go well.”Carlton Simmons, Youth on the Move President, said he had suggested banning tinted visors about two years ago and nothing had been done.He said: “Government aren’t moving quickly enough, they are about two years behind the problem.“We are lagging behind as what is being suggested is not stopping these guys killing one another. We are now finding ourselves playing catch up for the huge time lapse.”A Bermuda Police Service spokesman previously told this newspaper he could not comment on proposed legislation. However he said: “The BPS will support any legislation that makes our community safer, as well as our officers.”Mr Lister did not return our requests for comment yesterday.