DA calls on Civilian Secretariat for Police to brief Parliament on draconian Guns Bill
24 May 2021
The DA calls on the Civilian Secretariat to appear before Parliament’s Portfolio Committee of Police to give a detailed presentation on the contents of the Firearms Control Amendment Bill, which seeks to stop law-abiding citizens from possessing firearms.
Whilst we realise that this Bill still has a long legislative process to undergo, the public outcry is of such an extent that we deserve answers to the many questions surrounding it. Why are valuable resources being used to go after lawful gun owners while crime syndicates run amok with illegal guns? How must vulnerable South Africans, especially isolated farming communities, protect themselves?
The DA wants to know the rationale behind this current piece of legislation and what empirical evidence was used to support it. Particularly the clause around the removal of “self-defence” as a reason to possess a firearm.
SAPS has failed to deliver on its crime-fighting mandate and removing law-abiding citizens’ right to own a gun is equal to removing their last line of defence, we cannot allow this to happen.
SAPS should be making it easier for South Africans to feel safe, not more difficult. It is for this reason that the DA will be opposing this Bill. We also urge the public to oppose this draconian Bill and to submit their objections to [email protected]
We call on the public to copy the DA into their submissions, and we will ensure that their voices are accounted for and heard.
South Africa is like a war zone with a murder rate that exceeds some war-torn countries, defunding the police and disarming law-abiding citizens in the existing environment is not only reckless but will place the lives of many more South Africans at risk.
Issued by Andrew Whitfield, DA Shadow Minister of Police, 24 May 2021
