Proposed amendment to Firearms Control Act ‘promotes GBV’, says GOF

The government’s proposed amendment to the Bill that could ban South Africans from getting gun licences for the purpose of self-defence has received criticism.

The Draft Firearms Control Amendment Bill was released on Friday night, and gives the public until July to submit their comments in writing.

The move has been criticised by Girls on Fire, an organisation that helps women get licences for firearms.

The government’s move will promote gender-based violence, argued the organisation.

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“By taking away our rights to defend ourselves, our children, and our families, you and your Government will be toxic paternalistic enablers and promoters of gender-based violence against your most vulnerable members of society – us women,” said the organisation’s spokesperson Tshepi Mmekwa in a statement.

“You talk about the 2nd pandemic of gender-based violence, but you and your government are the drivers of 2nd pandemic of this kind of violence in our country. If these proposed changes are adopted, it will be a huge step back for women’s empowerment in South Africa. It will take us back to before our political emancipation, where we had no rights at all, especially the right to our implicit means to protect the right to life.”

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The move comes after the 2021-2022 budget for VIP protection increased to R1.7 billion, with the expenditure for protection and security services totalling R3.23 billion.

Tabling his budget vote before Parliament last week, Police Minister Bheki Cele cut the country’s visible policing sector’s budget by almost R4 billion, while crime intelligence’s budget was cut by R89 million.

“Now you suggest, through these proposed amendments, that our means to protect ourselves will be lost. This while you sit safely behind your high walls with well-funded armed guards,” said Mmekwa.

Additional reporting by Rorisang Kgosana