The conservative African Christian Democratic Party has come out firing in support of a Christian picket against the Firearms Control Act outside Parliament on Wednesday.
Justice spokesperson Steve Swart, MP, noted that the picket was aimed at expressing opposition to the Firearms Control Act, which comes into operation at midnight on Wednesday.
Swart said in a statement: “The ACDP is on record as opposing the Act, believing inter alia that the exorbitant costs of implementation should rather be spent on equipping and training police officers to fight crime.
“Additionally, the central firearms registry does not have the capacity to deal with the requirements of the new legislation. Mechanisms are not in place to enable competency certificates to be obtained, with detrimental consequences [to], amongst others, security industries.
“The focus on crime fighting should be to take the estimated four million illegal firearms off the streets and not to focus on law-abiding citizens who
lawfully possess firearms.
“The ACDP supports the right of responsible firearm ownership to enable citizens to protect themselves and their families, particularly in view of the high crime rate in South Africa.
“The ACDP furthermore supports the Pretoria High Court application that seeks to stop the Firearms Control Act from coming into operation.”
Gun owners came under fire in the Pretoria High Court on Wednesday for the late filing of their application to have the implementation of the Act delayed beyond midnight. Their application was dismissed by Judge Ben du Plessis.
The Act will make it mandatory for anyone applying for a gun licence to first undergo a marksmanship test. A person will only be allowed to possess one firearm for defence purposes.
People have to renew their licences in terms of a schedule that relates to their birth dates, with the last renewals in 2008. — I-Net Bridge
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