A growing threat in South Africa
Many gun owners in South Africa are choosing not to renew their licenses, which poses a risk to public safety as the firearms are now being used illegally, according to Gun Free South Africa (GFSA).
The GFSA has warned that South Africa’s relicensing system is collapsing.
Applications have dropped 74% since 2021 and 2022, which means that a growing number of gun owners have stopped renewing their licenses and are in possession of illegally owned firearms.
Gun Free SA Consultant Claire Taylor told Talk Radio 702 and CapeTalk in an interview that the collapse follows a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling stating that even if a license expires, the owner can still own the gun.
“The court didn’t say that you no longer need to have a license but that’s been the interpretation by many gun owners and it hasn’t been rectified by the government,” she said.
She said that gun re-licensing has four purposes, including to ensure that the gun owner is “fit and proper, that they are competent and that they still have a genuine need for the gun and that they still have their gun in their possession.”
In 2016, the government directed a nationwide response to relicensing uncertainty. Taylor said that the response to this was immediate, and what followed was a 160% increase in relicensing applications.
Due to all the confusion, gun owners in South Africa do not think that they need to have a valid licence. Taylor attributes much of this confusion to the government, which has not clarified the laws on relicensing.
“The result is a growing pool of gun owners who are now in illegal possession,” said Taylor.
She warned that the implications of being in illegal possession of a firearm in South Africa, could mean a prison sentence.
Gun Free SA urges government to amend Firearms Control Act
However, due to the large number predicted of people illegally possessing firearms in the country, Gun Free SA is urging the government not to penalise the gun owners with expired licences.
“We are calling on the government to clarify what gun owners with expired licences need to do and to do that across the country,” she said.
The organisation is also urging the government to develop a strategy to bring those gun owners who are outside the legal system back into it.
“We urgently need to amend the Firearms Control Act so that gun owners know what they need to do to comply with the law.”
The Supreme Court of Appeal has recognised the risk of these unlawfully held firearms, noting that they have an increased risk of being lost or stolen.
“In South Africa, the biggest source of illegal guns is licensed gun owners , that’s civilians and the state,” she said.
Gun owners report the loss or theft, on average, of 22 guns every day in South Africa, and Taylor explained that when those gun owners are outside of the system that increases the risk.
The Supreme Court also noted that illegally owned guns are at an increased risk of being used against the gun owner himself, as well as family members and others in his vicinity.
“We do need to focus on the recovery of guns that are already circulating in communities, trace them to the source to understand how they leaked into the illegal pool and destroy them,” said Taylor.
“But we also need to close the taps that are leaking licensed guns into that illegal pool, and part of that involves bringing these gun owners who are in an unlawful position back into the fold.”
Taylor explained that old gun licenses issued under the Arms and Ammunition Act have prevented those gun owners from complying with the Firearms Control Act.
This situation has resulted in a significant number of gun owners who are licensed but still fall under the regulations of the old law.
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