(SA) Travelling down a familiar road...
The road from gun licensing...to confiscation. Next stop: administrative disarmament.
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Story link: http://www.capeargus.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=49&fArticleId=2124634
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Police muzzle 90% of new gun licence applications
June 23, 2004
Legal gun ownership is slowly being strangled to death with an estimated refusal rate of up to 90% of all applications which have been launched this year.
Johannesburg gun dealers say they fear the situation is about to get worse when the new Firearms Control Act comes into operation.
The new law introduces a two-step process for those wishing to apply for a gun licence.
Applicants must be over 21, a South African citizen, be in sound mind and not inclined to violence, must not be addicted to drugs and alcohol, have no criminal record and not have previous convictions for violent crimes, sex crimes or domestic abuse.
Filling these criteria does not guarantee one a licence as gun dealers found out since last year. Refusals for gun licences rocketed from 16% in 1998 (according to a study by the Institute for Security Studies) to 70% last year. Dealers believe this year's figures might be as high as 90%.
On May 18 and May 20, a number of Johannesburg gun dealers received blanket refusals of gun licences.
"We had refusals left right and centre. Almost all outstanding applications were simply refused," Paul Bennett from E-Gunshop in Johannesburg said.
"Lack of motivation" is the main reason why the licence applications of people who want firearms for "purposes of self-defence" are turned down.
Other reasons include:
# For women: "Your husband can protect you."
# For a resident of a crime-riddled area: "The police will protect you."
# For applicants between 22 and 26 years old: "You are too young."
Apart from their running battle to figure out how a licence gets refused for "lack of motivation", gun dealers say that in some instances the police are now refusing to accept "new" applications.
The reason seems to be that they will have to be redone to satisfy new regulations by the time the police get round to processing them.
But, says Bennett, they know even less about how the new law is going to be applied.
DA spokesman for Safety and Security Roy Jankielsohn says there are almost no transitional measures in place to ease the new law into operation. He has also queried how the current backlog of up to 60 000 applications will be dealt with.
Gun dealers expect the delays will get longer, especially because of a lack of accredited training and shooting range facilities, backlogs, the absence of an appeal board as well as a general lack of communication from the Central Firearms Registry about what is going on.
Alex Holmes from the South African Arms and Ammunition Dealers Association said their most pressing concern at present is the lack of transitional arrangements in implementing the new law.
He said one of the causes for the backlog in the consideration of firearm licences is that applications are "recycled" through fingerprint checks when they take longer than three months to finalise.
He added they feared that the red tape and stonewalling involved in getting a legal gun might just entice people to get illegal weapons.
The most recent study on the subject by the Institute for Security Studies shows that most of those living in three target communities, known for crime and firearm-related problems, are in favour of a ban on guns, but at the same time more people than ever living in these communities wish to own a firearm. The desire for firearm ownership is a reaction to living in a crime-riddled society.
The study found it was easy to get hold of a gun in these communities of which a large percentage were probably unlicensed.
But would this help? In 1996, Dr John R Lott from the University of Chicago Law School published the results of an extremely controversial study analysing FBI information gathered between 1977 and 1992.
He found that in those 15 years, the so-called "right-to-carry" laws in America (given private individuals the right to carry guns for self-defence with them) caused a 5% decline in rapes, a 7% decline in aggravated assaults and an 8% decline in murder.
While the new Firearm Control Act was being written, this study was slated by some, in particular Gun Free South Africa.
Yesterday, safety and security minister Charles Nqakula said the new law would target "gun-toting" cowboys, saying those who have them must be careful how they use them.
That is, the gun dealers add, if you can still get a legal gun to carry around.
A world of experience
On April 28, 1996, 35 people were gunned down by Martin Bryant with a semi-automatic firearm in Port Arthur, Tasmania.
Following the massacre, self-defence is no longer considered to be a valid criterion to obtain a gun licence in Australia.
Authorities now require what they have termed a "genuine reason". Apart from requirements relating to age, a clean criminal record and storage facilities, licence holders can be disqualified if a registrar believes the applicant "may not be careful enough or have proper control because of living and domestic circumstances".
# A similar course of action is followed in Botswana where there is a total prohibition on issuing handgun licences to individuals. Only 400 licences are issued annually.
# In England, Scotland and Wales, applicants need to undergo an assessment of their mental health, physical health and must have a clean criminal record. They must also demonstrate the need to own a firearm.
# In Switzerland, applicants must demonstrate they do not pose a risk to themselves or someone else, demonstrate need and pass a knowledge and skills test. Those named in the Register of Convictions for Violent Crimes and Misdemeanors are disqualified from owning a gun.
# In the US, dealers are required to run individuals' details through the FBI's National Instant Check System before selling them a firearm.
# In Canada, gun licensing is left to the discretion of chief firearm officers who must look at public safety and if the applicant is subject to a domestic violence prohibition order. They also inform present and former spouses and common law partners of the application.
Source: a study about international requirements compiled by the Gun Control Alliance.
Who gets a licence?
These are two of the motivations the Central Firearms Registry considered to be insufficient to approve a gun licence for self-defence:
"I am a 28 year old man. I am medically fit. I don't take any medication for my health. I work at ... for three years as a shop assistant. I am the father of four children to look after. I have never been attacked or robbed, but I have seen some of my friends and relatives being robbed. I often have a lot of cash in my possession especially during month end. It is well-known that my neighbourhood has a very high crime rate. I have done a competency gun handling course at ... in Randburg. I am familiar with the gun law and regulations. I have built my shack with strong corrugated iron. I have mounted my gun safe on the cement floor with 8 mm bolts. I really need a gun to protect myself and my property."
What the law says:
The Constitution says that everybody has the right to be fairly treated by those taking decisions that will influence their lives. This includes being given reasons for those decisions.
To make this a reality the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act came into operation at the end of 2000.
In 2001 the Pretoria High Court decided that the issuing or not issuing of a firearm licence to an individual is an administrative action and that proper reasons must be given for the decision either way. This means that the Central Firearms Registry is bound by law to explain any decision on licensing.
However, in one of the judgments on the issue the court noted that what the CFR currently produces are "answers like those one expects from an automatic bank teller". Gun dealers have said that with the way the registry functions now, they have no idea when a licence will be issued for self-defence and when not.
What the new Firearms Control Act says:
The new Firearms Control Act establishes a process for those wishing to apply for a firearm. The first step is to obtain a competency certificate. To do this you must be 21 years or older, pass a background check, have no criminal record for specified crimes, know the law about firearms and know how to use a firearm. A competency certificate is valid for five years and can take up to six months to get.
There are, however, problems with implementing this new law. In particular there is a catch in the requirements for a competency certificate: to get one you need to be trained at a competent facility, of which only four have been accredited nationally and you need to practise at an accredited shooting range, of which none exist yet.
An applicant must agree to background checks. Mental illness, specific previous convictions and violence will disqualify an applicant.
Only one firearm per person will be allowed for purposes of self-defence and four for occasional hunters and sport shooters (of which only one can be a handgun).
No limit is set on the number of guns dedicated hunters and sport shooters are allowed providing they can prove membership of a relevant organisation and show a need for additional firearms. There is also no limit for those who use guns for business purposes subject to conditions.
Licences issued to businesses must be renewed every two years and those for self-defence every five years. Hunters or sport-shooters must renew licences every 10 years.
The road from gun licensing...to confiscation. Next stop: administrative disarmament.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Story link: http://www.capeargus.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=49&fArticleId=2124634
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Police muzzle 90% of new gun licence applications
June 23, 2004
Legal gun ownership is slowly being strangled to death with an estimated refusal rate of up to 90% of all applications which have been launched this year.
Johannesburg gun dealers say they fear the situation is about to get worse when the new Firearms Control Act comes into operation.
The new law introduces a two-step process for those wishing to apply for a gun licence.
Applicants must be over 21, a South African citizen, be in sound mind and not inclined to violence, must not be addicted to drugs and alcohol, have no criminal record and not have previous convictions for violent crimes, sex crimes or domestic abuse.
Filling these criteria does not guarantee one a licence as gun dealers found out since last year. Refusals for gun licences rocketed from 16% in 1998 (according to a study by the Institute for Security Studies) to 70% last year. Dealers believe this year's figures might be as high as 90%.
On May 18 and May 20, a number of Johannesburg gun dealers received blanket refusals of gun licences.
"We had refusals left right and centre. Almost all outstanding applications were simply refused," Paul Bennett from E-Gunshop in Johannesburg said.
"Lack of motivation" is the main reason why the licence applications of people who want firearms for "purposes of self-defence" are turned down.
Other reasons include:
# For women: "Your husband can protect you."
# For a resident of a crime-riddled area: "The police will protect you."
# For applicants between 22 and 26 years old: "You are too young."
Apart from their running battle to figure out how a licence gets refused for "lack of motivation", gun dealers say that in some instances the police are now refusing to accept "new" applications.
The reason seems to be that they will have to be redone to satisfy new regulations by the time the police get round to processing them.
But, says Bennett, they know even less about how the new law is going to be applied.
DA spokesman for Safety and Security Roy Jankielsohn says there are almost no transitional measures in place to ease the new law into operation. He has also queried how the current backlog of up to 60 000 applications will be dealt with.
Gun dealers expect the delays will get longer, especially because of a lack of accredited training and shooting range facilities, backlogs, the absence of an appeal board as well as a general lack of communication from the Central Firearms Registry about what is going on.
Alex Holmes from the South African Arms and Ammunition Dealers Association said their most pressing concern at present is the lack of transitional arrangements in implementing the new law.
He said one of the causes for the backlog in the consideration of firearm licences is that applications are "recycled" through fingerprint checks when they take longer than three months to finalise.
He added they feared that the red tape and stonewalling involved in getting a legal gun might just entice people to get illegal weapons.
The most recent study on the subject by the Institute for Security Studies shows that most of those living in three target communities, known for crime and firearm-related problems, are in favour of a ban on guns, but at the same time more people than ever living in these communities wish to own a firearm. The desire for firearm ownership is a reaction to living in a crime-riddled society.
The study found it was easy to get hold of a gun in these communities of which a large percentage were probably unlicensed.
But would this help? In 1996, Dr John R Lott from the University of Chicago Law School published the results of an extremely controversial study analysing FBI information gathered between 1977 and 1992.
He found that in those 15 years, the so-called "right-to-carry" laws in America (given private individuals the right to carry guns for self-defence with them) caused a 5% decline in rapes, a 7% decline in aggravated assaults and an 8% decline in murder.
While the new Firearm Control Act was being written, this study was slated by some, in particular Gun Free South Africa.
Yesterday, safety and security minister Charles Nqakula said the new law would target "gun-toting" cowboys, saying those who have them must be careful how they use them.
That is, the gun dealers add, if you can still get a legal gun to carry around.
A world of experience
On April 28, 1996, 35 people were gunned down by Martin Bryant with a semi-automatic firearm in Port Arthur, Tasmania.
Following the massacre, self-defence is no longer considered to be a valid criterion to obtain a gun licence in Australia.
Authorities now require what they have termed a "genuine reason". Apart from requirements relating to age, a clean criminal record and storage facilities, licence holders can be disqualified if a registrar believes the applicant "may not be careful enough or have proper control because of living and domestic circumstances".
# A similar course of action is followed in Botswana where there is a total prohibition on issuing handgun licences to individuals. Only 400 licences are issued annually.
# In England, Scotland and Wales, applicants need to undergo an assessment of their mental health, physical health and must have a clean criminal record. They must also demonstrate the need to own a firearm.
# In Switzerland, applicants must demonstrate they do not pose a risk to themselves or someone else, demonstrate need and pass a knowledge and skills test. Those named in the Register of Convictions for Violent Crimes and Misdemeanors are disqualified from owning a gun.
# In the US, dealers are required to run individuals' details through the FBI's National Instant Check System before selling them a firearm.
# In Canada, gun licensing is left to the discretion of chief firearm officers who must look at public safety and if the applicant is subject to a domestic violence prohibition order. They also inform present and former spouses and common law partners of the application.
Source: a study about international requirements compiled by the Gun Control Alliance.
Who gets a licence?
These are two of the motivations the Central Firearms Registry considered to be insufficient to approve a gun licence for self-defence:
"I am a 28 year old man. I am medically fit. I don't take any medication for my health. I work at ... for three years as a shop assistant. I am the father of four children to look after. I have never been attacked or robbed, but I have seen some of my friends and relatives being robbed. I often have a lot of cash in my possession especially during month end. It is well-known that my neighbourhood has a very high crime rate. I have done a competency gun handling course at ... in Randburg. I am familiar with the gun law and regulations. I have built my shack with strong corrugated iron. I have mounted my gun safe on the cement floor with 8 mm bolts. I really need a gun to protect myself and my property."
What the law says:
The Constitution says that everybody has the right to be fairly treated by those taking decisions that will influence their lives. This includes being given reasons for those decisions.
To make this a reality the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act came into operation at the end of 2000.
In 2001 the Pretoria High Court decided that the issuing or not issuing of a firearm licence to an individual is an administrative action and that proper reasons must be given for the decision either way. This means that the Central Firearms Registry is bound by law to explain any decision on licensing.
However, in one of the judgments on the issue the court noted that what the CFR currently produces are "answers like those one expects from an automatic bank teller". Gun dealers have said that with the way the registry functions now, they have no idea when a licence will be issued for self-defence and when not.
What the new Firearms Control Act says:
The new Firearms Control Act establishes a process for those wishing to apply for a firearm. The first step is to obtain a competency certificate. To do this you must be 21 years or older, pass a background check, have no criminal record for specified crimes, know the law about firearms and know how to use a firearm. A competency certificate is valid for five years and can take up to six months to get.
There are, however, problems with implementing this new law. In particular there is a catch in the requirements for a competency certificate: to get one you need to be trained at a competent facility, of which only four have been accredited nationally and you need to practise at an accredited shooting range, of which none exist yet.
An applicant must agree to background checks. Mental illness, specific previous convictions and violence will disqualify an applicant.
Only one firearm per person will be allowed for purposes of self-defence and four for occasional hunters and sport shooters (of which only one can be a handgun).
No limit is set on the number of guns dedicated hunters and sport shooters are allowed providing they can prove membership of a relevant organisation and show a need for additional firearms. There is also no limit for those who use guns for business purposes subject to conditions.
Licences issued to businesses must be renewed every two years and those for self-defence every five years. Hunters or sport-shooters must renew licences every 10 years.
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