DA submits objections to draconian Gun Bill; urges South Africans to object before 31 July 2021
29 July 2021
Today, the DA has submitted our objections to the Firearms Control Amendment Bill and we urge all South Africans to use these last three days to voice their objections and submit their comments on this draconian Bill that amongst other things seek to remove “self-defence” as a reason to possess a firearm.
This Bill has been a source of concern and anger since its publication on 21 May 2021, and rightly so. The amendments suggested would severely hamper any citizen’s rights to protect themselves – something that cannot be judged lightly, particularly given the wide-spread destruction and chaos that reigned in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng two weeks ago and left residents there to fend for themselves when the South African Police Service (SAPS) and other law enforcement agencies failed utterly to protect communities from violence and looting.
In addition to our objection to the removal of “self-defence” as a reason to possess a firearm, we also object to the following aspects of the Bill:
The broad and sweeping powers given to the Minister of Police to ban any type of ammunition by notice in the Government gazette.