There is no other nation on the planet that views guns the way the United States does. While other nations view firearm ownership on something of a spectrum, the best of those nations still fall well short of even California or New York, at least as far as gun rights go.
That’s freaking terrifying.
One nation that has strict gun control is South Africa. Once upon a time, it was probably one of the most developed nations on the continent. Then, things changed, and it’s now a dump. It’s been headed down the drain for decades, and its issues with violent crime are just one more reason it’s going down the toilet.
But it seems at least some people there do have an understanding of why the country’s strict gun control isn’t working. I say that because I came across an op-ed from there that starts off sounding like it could have been published here at Bearing Arms.
Current state efforts to tackle violent crimes in South Africa have demonstrably fallen short because they focus on restricting the “tools” of violence rather than deterring the human intent that drives it.
This is the argument presented by the Safe Citizen advocacy group following the government’s recent revival of the controversial Firearms Control Amendment Bill (FCAB).
The revival has reignited a fierce debate in South Africa that pits the government’s push for tighter gun control against citizens’ need for self-protection in a country plagued by violent crime.
According to the proposed legislation, the aim is to strengthen laws on firearms control and effectively enforce them in order to reduce violent crimes and deaths from firearms.
However, the lack of public trust in the police service to effectively fight crime has generated a perception that it is necessary to possess a personal firearm for protection, especially in a country plagued by violent crime.
At the centre of the debate is a proposal to remove self-defence as a valid reason for owning a firearm.
The FCAB, currently before NEDLAC, also proposes shorter licence validity periods, stricter ammunition limits, tighter rules for collectors and sport shooters, and expanded discretionary powers for the Police Minister.
In a formal policy submission delivered to the Presidency, authored by director and founder Jonathan Deal, the group has called for a fundamental “reframing” of South Africa’s approach to public safety.
The submission, which has also been delivered to the Minister of Police and the Portfolio Committee on Police, argues for an evidence-based framework designed to strengthen state capacity and improve outcomes within existing constitutional structures.
The central thesis of the Safe Citizen framework is that criminal violence is driven by intent, not by the lawful availability of specific tools.
I mean, while the specifics are going to be different because of what they’re up against in South Africa, the sentiment is just good, old common sense.
Good guys who buy guns lawfully aren’t the problem. It’s criminals who are the issue, and they’re getting guns regardless of the nation’s laws. It’s almost like there are enough civil wars raging throughout Africa and enough general criminality on the continent that there’s a robust supply of black market arms that can make its way into South Africa regardless of the laws on the books.
What this group, Safe Citizen, proposes is lawfully armed South Africans who can meet the threats and defeat them with weapons of their own. Most criminals, at least here in the US, are cowards. They want easy prey, and the moment that potential prey shows they have teeth, the bad guy runs. This is largely true across national boundaries. People are still people, after all, and those who want an easy life preying on other people aren’t exactly go-getters.
Armed citizens save lives. Not just their own, either, and while it’s mostly an American thing, it shouldn’t be. The right to keep and bear arms is a human right. South Africans who want to obey the law should have the choice about whether to own a gun for self-defense, and the laws throughout there and most of the rest of the world view self-defense as something sinister, something that should be forbidden.
It’s not, and it’s nice to see a little common sese coming from abroad, since it’s rare enough these days.
Editor’s Note: President Trump and Republicans across the country are doing everything they can to protect our Second Amendment rights and right to self-defense.
Help us continue to report on their efforts and legislative successes. Join Bearing Arms VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership.
Read the full article here
