Guns aren’t the problem; a culture of violence is
THE DEATH of Senzo Meyiwa has cast the spotlight on violent crime and elicited several emotive calls that include the reinstatement of dismissed former police commissioner, Bheki Cele, the reintroduction of the death penalty and the tightening of gun laws.
What all these sentiments indicate is that the reality of crime, and particularly violent crime, is a clear and present danger facing our country which will take more than a few knee-jerk reactions to countenance and finally overcome.
First, the call for Cele’s return is grossly misguided.
It will not lead to improved policing and only pave the way for even more bloody confrontation between the police and criminals and more violent deaths.
As for the death penalty, much has been said about its unconstitutionality.
Furthermore, the death penalty can only lead to the further traumatisation of our society, which makes it a less desirable option.
The call for stricter gun laws in the form of the so-called Senzo Meyiwa gun law was first proposed by the president of the South African Football Association, Danny Jordaan, when he called for the handing over of illegal guns for destruction.
This call has been taken further by others who argue the reduction of guns in civilian hands – both legal and illegal – will lead to a concomitant reduction in gun homicides.
It must be said that this argument is highly problematic if not completely flawed.
Currently, gun ownership in South Africa is regulated under the Firearms Control Act of 2000.
Some of the stipulations of the act include, but are not limited to, the prospective owner/s having to provide genuine reasons for possession such as for hunting, target shooting or personal protection.
In addition, background checks are carried out to determine criminal records, mental, medical, domestic violence, and addiction records, which can all disqualify prospective applicants from owning a gun.
Moreover, in South Africa, the right to private gun ownership is not guaranteed by law and the maximum penalty for unlawful possession is 15 years’ imprisonment.
This sounds stringent enough and refutes the sugges- tion that our gun laws are not tough enough.
What needs to be pointed out is that South Africa currently does not experience a gun problem, as many would like us to believe.
What we face is a violent crime problem where killings have become banal to the point of ceasing to shock.
It is not guns that kill people, it is people who kill people.
In arguing for the reduction of both legal and illegal firearms, one columnist even suggested a gun is to gun vio- lence what the mosquito is to malaria.
To counter this contention, one can contend that mosquitoes bite people to cause malaria, but guns do not shoot people to cause death.
Someone has to pull the trigger and that someone, not the gun, is to blame for the death.
It must be said that, considered on its own, the reduction of guns in civilian hands is a noble sentiment.
I guess that is why it is still unacceptable to buy children toy guns though some parents still do it for whatever reason.
However, to cite gun possession as the catalyst for violent crime, is to be grossly myopic.
The problem (not the challenge) of violent crime is one that is really getting out of hand with murders being reported in the media with alarming frequency.
People are shot dead during hijackings, women are killed by their spouses, children are not spared the horror of their lives being snuffed out at a tender age.
It is heart-wrenching espe- cially considering the irreversibility of death.
The pain visited on the bereaved families is beyond what words can utter. Our society is under siege. My belief is that South Africa needs a sustainable plan to deal with the culture of violence in general.
The weapon of choice becomes secondary to the inclination to violence that leads to homicide.
Whether one uses a gun, knife or bare hands, is neither here nor there.
There is also a need for a reorientation of societal values that will lead to more recognition and respect for the sanctity of human life.
What needs to be addressed is the inability of the transgressors to go through life’s challenges without resorting to exacerbating the situation through acts of violence that will leave permanent scars on others and bring in their wake repercussions and recriminations for the perpetrator.
Nathaniel Lee
Comptonville, Joburg