Mixed reaction to new gun law

2004-07-01 12:08

Johannesburg - South Africa hopes to make a dent in its frighteningly high crime rate with a new gun control law that went into effect on Thursday despite a last-minute bid by firearm owners to delay the measure.

Under the new Firearms Control Act, South Africa's 2.1 million registered gun owners will have to reapply for their licenses, undergo more stringent background checks and sit an exam to prove they have basic knowledge of how to handle a firearm.

It also raises the legal age for owning a gun to 21 from 16 and new firearm owners will be have to undergo a training and safety course at an accredited institution.

Supporters of the legislation say it is long overdue in a country battling one of the highest rates of violent crime in the world with some 22 000 murders and 115 000 armed robberies registered between 2001 and 2002.

"It's definitely a good thing for this country. We are a young democracy and we need to look at the destruction and devastation gun violence has caused in our country," said Gun-Free South Africa's national director Judy Bassingthwaighte.

"It's a radical thing for South Africa and I am quite convinced that the teething problems will be sorted and that it will make a change in the long term."

Too complicated

It has also won support from the police force.

"We believe that in the long term these laws will ultimately help create a safer South Africa," police spokesperson Andrew Lesch told AFP.

But the gun lobby sought to delay the entry into force of the legislation with a court complaint this week that was thrown out by High Court Judge Ben du Plessis who said it had "no factual basis".

The South African Gun Owners Association says it is in favour of "reasonable firearm legislation" but that the new law goes too far with restrictions.

"It's unnecessary, it's complicated, the training standard is too high, it infringes on an individual's right to ownership and it gives the police excessive powers to search and seize items," spokesperson Martin Hood told AFP.

"Legal firearms are not the problem of crime in this country. Criminals are the problem and we want the police to catch criminals, not gun owners."

President Thabo Mbeki's government, however, sees tighter gun control as key to bringing down the crime rate as studies show that guns are involved in more than half the murders committed in South Africa.

Illegal firearms remains a risk

"This country is sick and tired of the negative effects of serious violent crimes committed with firearms and government, through this legislation, adopted a constructive approach to address this problem," Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula said ahead of the enactment of the Firearms Control Act.

Nobody can say with certainty how many illegal firearms are floating around, but Nqakula this week said at least 93 000 guns had been reported missing or stolen since 2000.

- AFP