Law Abiding

AS you read this, the draft Firearms Control Amendment Bill has probably been debated at length, and hopefully your anger has subsided somewhat. Reading the proposed amendments had my own blood boiling as it was clearly written by someone who is totally out of touch with reality, or simply out to anger and/or put law abiding gun owners at a disadvantage. However, the best thing to do is to stay calm and affirm our determination to fight this with all we have.

Before I discuss what we can do about it, let’s look at some of the proposals.

• To be in possession of reloading equipment will make you a criminal.

• You will no longer be allowed to have a firearm for self-defence.

• If you are not in possession of a firearm transporter’s permit issued in terms of the Act, you may not transport more than three firearms at a time.

• Hunting and sport shooting firearms will be limited, even if you have dedicated status. Only six firearms are permitted with dedicated status, but you will be limited to a maximum of two rifles, two handguns, etc. For those without dedicated status the limit stays as now, at four firearms.

• No one is allowed more than 100 rounds per firearm, not even with dedicated status, unless you apply for a permit.

• You may not allow anyone under 16 years to use your firearm under supervision.

• Private firearm collections will no longer be permitted.

• Professional hunters will be restricted to eight firearms, rendering it no longer possible to provide foreign clients with firearms to hunt. You might have some, but probably not enough to go around. (At present, providing foreign hunters with firearms, if so required, is mandatory for outfitters.)

• The Minister will get more power to limit or restrict imports of firearms and ammunition. This will probably lead to ammunition shortages and the fact that we’ll be unable to reload will make the situation worse.

The above points are but a few of the concerning changes proposed. Many hunting and shooting organisations as well as political parties have voiced concern and I’ve seen a few petitions doing the rounds. The draft allows for comments, which must be submitted by no later than 4 July 2021. If you are a firearm owner it is now time to act. You can rely on others to speak for you, and I’m sure the various organisations will do a good job in representing their members, but each individual firearm owner needs to make his/her voice heard. So, get to your keyboard and voice your opinion without emotion. Remember submissions are to be sent to committee members of the National Assembly. Think before you write an emotionally charged letter; rather make your point in a cool and calm manner, stick to the facts and write in such a way that it can be easily read and understood by members of the committee.

Also, don’t be fooled into responding to the scrapping of Section 13 (selfdefence) only, but respond to every point that will limit your ability to defend yourself, enjoy sport shooting and hunting (whether occasional or dedicated), or if it will adversely affect your ability to do your job – professional hunters/outfitters and security personnel come to mind.

You know your particular situation best, and are in the strongest position to formulate your argument. Yes, legal teams will argue the legal points, constitutionality, etc, but each of us has to tell how this draft will negatively impact on our daily, law-abiding lives. With the deadline looming there is no better time than right now to put pen to paper. I simply cannot imagine going on a pigeon shoot with 100 cartridges, trying to defend myself with pepper spray or a baton against armed assailants, not being able to enjoy hours in front of the reloading bench, or going through the tedious task of applying for a permit to transport a firearm.

Each and very firearm owner must stand up to be counted if we want to win this battle. Of course, we have to support the organisations to which we belong; they have a vital role to play in this fight, but do not allow your membership of an accredited organisation to make you complacent. The more ‘grassroots’ pressure we can apply to show the proposed Bill as impractical the better are our chances.

Comments can be emailed to Mr Ntwana at comments.fcabill@csp.gov.za (remember: no later than 4 July 2021). Enquiries can be directed to Ms Lornah Legomo on 012-393-4658 or by email at lornah.legomo@csp.gov.za

You can find the draft bill at: http:// www.policesecretariat.gov.za/downloads/fac_bill/fac_bill.pdf

On a different note, we have received numerous enquiries regarding Magnum’s on-sale dates. I know it has been an adjustment and somewhat confusing with our publishing only eight editions per year, some monthly and some bi-monthly. For May, June, July and August the magazine will appear monthly. After that we’ll revert back to a bi-monthly cycle for Sept/oct, Nov/dec, Jan/feb and March/april editions. We’ll also make sure that the on-sale date of the next edition will appear in each new mag to keep you on track as to when to get your next fix.

As it’s our 45th birthday we plan to give away a custom-made folding knife specifically made for Magnum’s 20th birthday. Yes, one lucky reader will stand a chance to win the 25-year-old knife numbered 0100. This unique folder is a true collector’s item and irreplaceable. However, to enter, you’ll have to wait for the July edition to appear – see the back of this magazine for the on-sale date.