The World Forum on The Future of Sport Shooting Activities

WFSA News and Information



March 2006

March 23, 2006

Jamaican gun law argument

In the 1970s after increasing criminal activity Jamaica introduced some of the severest gun laws in the world. Over a period of time, and regardless of the new laws, the murder rate continued to rise to high levels. Some small relaxing of them was introduced in the eighties.

Now, an argument has broken out in Jamaica about the unnecessary delays in the process of providing firearm licences to those who are entitled to them. Senator Prudence Kidd-Deans has called for those in charge of the system to expedite the process in accordance with the law.

The Jamaica Gleaner reports her as saying that over three-quarters of her parliamentary colleagues are licensed gun owners, but ordinary citizens are impeded in their bid for licences. In a formal response, the Police Commissioner said he hoped no unnecessary red tape was being used against people "applying for their legal right".


March 2, 2006

Guns are "evil"

The Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, about to celebrate ten years in office, has explained in an interview that guns are "evil".

Australia had very restrictive gun laws introduced following a multiple murder by shooting in April, 1996. It was, according to John Howard, an "opportunity to grab the moment". The country's murder rates, at roughly 1.8 per 100,000 of population, remain the same today as before the gun bans. The suicide rate has also not declined, although suicide methods have shifted further away from shooting and instead over to asphyxiation.

Criticizing the USA for what he called its "slavish love of guns", the Prime Minister justified the bans following the Port Arthur shootings in his statement: "I did not want Australia to go down the American path."

The effectiveness of increasingly restrictive gun laws has continued to be assumed rather than empirically examined in Australia.

ninemsn.com.au


March 1, 2006

Confusion concerning South African gun laws

The attempts to overhaul the gun laws in South Africa have again been severely criticized, after a recent warning from Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula. He said that gun owners are still obliged to comply with the existing provisions of the Firearms Control Act, despite the fact that a draft amendment bill has just been published in the Government Gazette, calling for public comment before the end of this month.

The amended laws provide for some relaxation of onerous requirements, including the need for individual gun audits each five years. Under the proposed changes, only a new competence certificate must be gained each five years. There will also be some small relaxation of the clause prohibiting existing owners from keeping a certain number of guns that belong in the same category. In addition, five-shot repeating shotguns will be permissible for hunters. However, under the proposed amendments, collected firearms will need to be rendered inoperable, thereby destroying their antique integrity and value.

The South African Independent Online reports that a spokesman for the South African Gun Owners Association, Martin Hedington, said the draft is composed of both good news and bad, but that overall its introduction acknowledges the failure of the current legislation. Calling it "this incredibly stupid law", he criticized the estimated cost of 24 billion rand per year, saying that over 400 lawful gun dealers are now out of business, and the country's historic and lucrative hunting industry is now on the verge of collapse. Some gun owners have already handed in firearms for destruction because they faced imprisonment if they did not renew their existing gun licences by certain dates. The government ought now to negotiate appropriate compensation for those concerned.

The draft bill (which is available on the police website, does not place a moratorium on the requirement to renew firearm licences issued under the old Act, according to the ministry media statement. Clearly, considerable confusion still attends the licensing requirements for the average law-abiding gun owner in South Africa.


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