TRAIL TALK

Firearms Control Amendment Bill 2021

IHAVE taken some flak from readers wanting to know why Magnum has not been more vocal and did not provide more detail on the proposed Firearms Control Amendment Bill, 2021 in the previous edition. Well, the publication of the proposed bill caught us by surprise, but more problematic was the fact that we were only days away from our deadline to print when the suggested changes were made available for comments.

By the time you read this, the deadline for submissions will be something of the past. So, we simply could not share more information in the magazine. However, we have tried to make readers aware of what they need to do on Facebook and our website. I sincerely hope that each and every firearm owner has submitted his or her comments and did not rely on someone else to shoulder the burden.

Now, the question is: what to do next? The battle to continue hunting and partaking in sport shooting, not to mention being legally entitled to own a defensive firearm, is going to cost money and mass participation. Whether mass participation can influence the process will, in part, be determined by how many people actually submitted comments. But there is more to do. If you are not a member of an accredited hunting and/or shooting association or firearm owner’s organisation, now is the time to join. Your membership fee will help to keep the fight going. The government seems to listen (though not necessarily to act) only when the populace embarks on mass action. Joining an organisation will help to bolster our numbers.

Also, we’ll have to exert political pressure by lobbying political parties, irrespective of which party you belong to or support. We have to convince every political party to take a stand against the draft. Speak to your local counsel representative and phone or write to the party leaders. Only by raising awareness of our plight can they be pressured into raising our voices in the chambers of power. I’ve already told several political figures that they cannot count on my vote if they do not take a firm stand against the draft bill and do their utmost to stop it. Our votes place them in positions of power and it is now time to return the favour.

Also, soon we’ll probably have to fork up some money to fund the legal battles. To me, it seems that in South Africa it has become the norm to take the government to court to negate senseless decisions that negatively affect us. I wonder what would happen if the time and money spent on making life difficult for law-abiding firearm owners was channelled into getting local governments solvent and back to actually delivering services. Just one example: in my suburb, we ourselves have had to resort to fixing potholes, or clearing roads from overhanging and dangerously intruding trees and bushes on the tarmac. Most people in my neighbourhood are hardworking, law-abiding citizens, many of whom own firearms. We want only the basic services delivered, for which we pay anyway, yet to no avail. We’d like to work and live in a safe environment and sometimes enjoy some of our free time on the range, at the reloading bench, in the hunting field, or collecting, etc.

Many of the proposals in the draft bill do not make sense and/or cannot be implemented without adding a significant burden to firearm owners and, of course, civil servants already struggling to handle their current workload. Service delivery is just about non-existent, yet more rules, paperwork and laboratory services will be needed. It is simply not viable.

Worrying is that Helen Zille, of the DA, is quoted in the media to have said that it’s possible that the disarming of law-abiding citizens could simply be a preamble to the expropriation of land without compensation. She thinks this cannot simply be dismissed as a conspiracy theory.

I’m not much of a conspiracy theorist, but the obvious question comes to mind: what government stands to gain by making it much harder for the law-abiding citizen to hunt and to partake in sport shooting, or by making it impossible for those law-abiding citizens to defend themselves in a country where crime is rampant, while the police budget is being cut?

The above might sound like a rant, and yes, I’m perplexed and angered at government for burdening us with this nonsense. Given the poor economy and damage caused by Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, we cannot afford to get involved in yet another fight with an under-performing government which refuses to listen to, or look after its own citizens.

Notwithstanding this, we should stay calm, get the better of our emotions and resolutely do what is needed to stop the draft. So, join the fight today by making a decision and doing something about it now. Do not merely voice your disapproval on social media. Remember, those fighting in the front lines will need your support as we’re up against a government which seems willing to spend millions and to exert an overwhelming force to steamroller the bill through the legislature. We’re currently at the beginning of a protracted struggle. Only by standing together do we have a chance.