Gun owners up in arms
South Africans countrywide are up in arms about the latest proposed change to the Firearms Control Act, announced by government on Friday, 21 May.
The most prominent concern is that this will have a devastating impact on honest citizens and women who want to protect themselves against criminals.
The draft amendment Bill in Friday's Government Gazette seeks to amend many things, but what has most people seeing red is the proposal that no firearm licences may be issued for self-defence purposes. The Bill further regulates the issuing of licences for hunters, with applicants having to prove that they are engaged in the hobby.
Just some of the comments flying around on social media since Friday included:
"How many more women need to be slaughtered at the hands of criminals?"
"How many more women have to die without being able to defend themselves?"
"With gender-based violence at its highest and police in a state of crisis failing to keep women safe, this proposed amendment to the Firearms Control Act could be fatal."
"No logic! Must we live in fear and with no security. Does not make sense at all."
"Besides the criminals having a stockpile of illegal weapons they talk about hunting rifles too, so game farms will suffer as well."
Meanwhile, Dawie van Rooyen, owner of the shooting range and firearms training academy On Target in George, was also extremely worried about the impact on the legal firearms industry and the law-abiding citizen.
"The amendments will have a significant impact on the firearms industry, not just financially with gun shops, gunsmiths, training centres, accredited shooting ranges, sport shooting organisations and even the security industry that employ staff and conduct business," he said. "They will also impact law-abiding citizens who know how to legally and safely use their firearms to protect their own lives as a first response to crimes against them in a country with the highest crime rate in the world.
"The firearms industry brings millions of rands into our current unstable economy and the proposed changes will have a big financial impact for government in terms of fees and taxes paid in order to possess a firearm," said Van Rooyen.