FCA Amendment 2021: The Government Wants to Take Away Your Guns

The government is going for an amendment to the Firearms Control Act (FCA) for the second time in the space of three years, almost entirely on the same reasons and proposals as the first time. That first time was actually killed before it even got out the gate, probably because the proposal was leaked to the public before it was supposed to be released, which generated a furor into which the government could not jump without getting burned. This time it played its cards closer to its chest, and the furor is no less than it was in 2018. However, since these proposals are official this time, a unique opportunity is presenting itself in which rather than the intended explosion government is hoping for, it could well turn into a Loony-Tunes brand of Acme dynamite.

The proposals are barely three days old, and has already generated 18,000 comments through the Dear SA platform, never mind an unknown quantity submitted directly to the Civilian Secretariat for Police Services (CSPS). Please do not submit comments directly to the CSPS, as there is no way of knowing whether they will guard the data properly. Rather make use of the Dear SA platform which will keep a copy for itself, send a copy to you, and forward the comment to the CSPS. The Dear SA submission portal can be found at https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/firearm-control-2021/

There is a draft bill already floating around, but its authenticity cannot be verified yet. Rather, I make reference to the proposals in the Government Gazette number 44593 of volume 671, 21 May 2021. These proposals are universally terrible, and will decimate the South African firearms industry and shooting fraternities, irrespective of whether it relates to hunting, sport shooting, or casual firearm owners.

The proposal to abolish self-defence as a reason to own a firearm is drawing the most attention, but this must not distract from the rest of the proposal, which seeks to drastically limit the number of firearm owners may own, even as dedicated hunters or sport shooters. Collectors are also squarely zeroed in on. The bill would appear to overall be written by someone who has no idea of what they were doing, with zero knowledge of the firearm industry in South Africa. This would be true if the proposal is in good faith, however the evidence is to the contrary. Rather than it being written by someone that is woefully incompetent, it appears to be written specifically to utterly gut the firearm community.

We would be wise not to treat the drafters as idiots. They most certainly are not. The proposal is too specific, and even moronic, to not be attributable to incompetence. Remember that the state tried this in 2018, and it blew up in their faces. The fact that they are back three years later with virtually the same proposal, if not worse, is highly indicative that there is an agenda at play, and the government is fully aware of it. The sponsors of this bill might well be incompetent, but the drafters are not.

As much as the bill is drawing a lot of criticism, it needs more. A lot more. Firearm bodies, such as Gun Owners SA and Safe Citizen Campaign, need money and resources. A lot more money and resources.

I averred to a possible silver lining to these recent shenanigans, a la Acme dynamite. If the current public outcry continues, and does not lose momentum, the bill will nearly certainly go the way of the 2015 FCA amendment dodo. However, in initiating this amendment process, not only is there a chance to have the amendment tossed, but there is also a good chance to replace the amendment proposal with a different one. Whether it would get past the portfolio committee is another question, but it remains an open one for now.

The recent revelations of the dysfunction of the Central Firearms Registry (CFR) is fresh in the minds of many. It was barely a week ago that the portfolio committee on police visited the CFR and was greeted by what was probably literal tons of paper in a condemned building. The CFR has collapsed, and this has been the case for over a decade. The fact that it was semi functional for a few years prior to 2019 is not indicative of anything. It was semi-functional in spite of its problems, which have now reached cataclysmic proportions.

The earlier initiative to garner support for a ‘license the person, register the firearm’ system did not die, as much as not much has been said of it for a short while now. The input was received, and is sufficient to inform an amendment to that effect. It may well make a strong showing once the current proposed amendments are dealt with.

Step 1 is of course to deal with the current amendments, which must be properly and thoroughly eviscerated. Step 2 may then be to propose entirely new amendments, such as changing the licensing system. However, we will not get past Step 1 if the various organisations are not supported at this stage.

I conclude with a reminder to make comment through the Dear SA platform at this link https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/firearm-control-2021/. Do not lose hope, for the fight is just beginning. ‘Primo victoria!’, and ‘A luta continua!’ seem apt calls to make with the ground swelling of support. Long may it continue.