The Helen Suzman Foundation Has Made Submissions to the Firearms Committee on the Firearms Control Amendment Bill, 2021
4 August 2021
In its submission, the HSF acknowledged the importance of achieving the objectives the Bill seeks to achieve and made the following submissions:
The Bill seeks to amend the objective of the Firearms Control Act (FCA) 'to restrict access to firearms by civilians and to comply with regional and international on firearms regulations'. The HSF submitted that (a) this objective can be achieved by less restrictive means, and (b) the purpose of the Bill must accordingly be amended to include the 'protection of rights contained in the Bill of Rights'.
The HSF opposes the repeal of section 13 and 14 of the FCA on the basis of three arguments:
the repeal will not resolve the social ills advanced by the reasons for the repeal; instead a strict test for obtaining a license of firearms on application and renewal would ensure that firearms are in the right hands.