With Saps abandoning us during the looting, who will give up guns now?

In a country where 4,976 people were murdered during the first three months of this year alone, the new proposed gun law just doesn’t add up. 

One of government’s arguments for why the Firearm Control Amendment Bill is necessary is that weapons owned for self-defence often end up in the hands of criminals. 

This is ironic, as a police station was robbed at gunpoint in the Northern Cape this past weekend where suspects made off with a large number of firearms and ammunition.

ALSO READ: Suspects rob police station of firearms and ammunition

Let’s not forget how ammunition, which was under police guard, was stolen during the recent riots and looting in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

After the recent unrest in South Africa, government should take a step back and reconsider the ramifications of this proposed law. It is clear that the South African Police Service (Saps) is not capable of protecting themselves or South Africans.

How much worse would the destruction have been in KZN if private residents and private security companies didn’t step in to assist the police to try to protect some shopping malls and shops in the communities? The province would have suffered many more job losses.

Should taking guns out of the hands of private citizens for self-defence really be at the top of government’s list of priorities?

Should their priority not be to upskill the police force to apprehend these criminals and protect themselves and their ‘houses’?

If the South African police are unable to protect their own police stations against criminals, how does the government expect them to protect South Africans’ lives, their homes and their belongings?

Is it really a responsible step to only arm the police, and expect them to uphold law and order, when lives remain in danger daily? How many news reports have there been of corrupt individuals within the Saps who were involved in criminal activities, including armed robbery? And yet, the government wants to disarm South African citizens.

How can we sleep soundly at night, with no means to protect ourselves, knowing how deep the rot of corruption goes in government?  

How can government expect to leave our lives in the hands of the police if they can’t even protect themselves against criminals?  

It would be more responsible to arm private citizens to defend themselves and protect what is theirs than to expect the Saps to come to the rescue.