POPCRU supports calls for a gun-free South Africa
17 January 2020
The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) supports the calls made towards ensuring that the Firearms Control Act of 2000 does not allow for individuals to own more than one firearm, and encourages more people to surrender them as part of a drive to reduce their flow within our communities.
The 2018/19 national crime statistics and preceding statistics are but other measures that demonstrate the negative effects firearms, as weapons of choice, have had on our communities by increasing the number of people shot, robberies and carjacking as compared to previous years.
As indicated in many international evidence, having a gun for self-defence puts you and your family at risk for death and injury. A gun in the home is more likely to be used to commit murder, suicide or to threaten and intimidate someone known to the shooter than to successfully protect against an intruder.
As of 2018, 8 women are murdered a day in our country, an estimated 3 of whom are shot and killed, a figure which is a 50% increase from 2009.