In South Africa, the mere utterance of the words "gun" and "ownership" in the same breath is almost guaranteed to spark fiery debate.

Should we become a 'gun free' country? Do guns kill people or do people kill people? Whether you're a pacifist with a towering treasure of tie-dye t-shirts or a trigger-happy war dog with more firearms than fingers (or indeed a level-headed, law-abiding citizen falling somewhere in between), all sorts of emotive questions come bubbling to the surface when the conversation takes a turn towards weapons.

Now, despite the 'extension' of the deadline that would have seen all licences, permits and authorisations issued under the Arms and Ammunition Act 75 of 1969 ceasing to be legal, gun owners in SA still find themselves sitting on a powder keg.

Whether or not you agree with the 'change' in law, the fact remains that there would suddenly have been well over a million more (probably not-so-hardened) criminals on our crime-ravaged streets from midnight on 30 June 2009 had a Pretoria court ruling not provided a temporary reprieve. Indeed, the possibility of such a situation coming about certainly cannot be ruled out.

This 'until-further-notice' ruling is to remain in effect pending the final outcome of an application to have certain sections of the 'new' Firearms Control Act declared unconstitutional. But exactly when this conclusion will be reached is anyone's guess.

Where does this leave you?

So, what if you decided not to renew your licence and took one of the other stipulated actions? Where does that leave you now, or at least until the final ruling mentioned above is made?

Well, if you sold your gun to a licensed firearms dealer in South Africa, you appear to have little recourse. If you handed your firearm in to police for 'de-activation', you will not be able to retrieve it (although at this stage, officials are not authorised to destroy it either).

Opted to sell or donate the weapon to another individual or a legal entity, but in the meantime surrendered it to the SAPS for safekeeping? In this case, you can reclaim the gun as well as the licence (if you wish) from the cops.

What if you applied, without success, for a renewal of your licence? According to the SAPS, you may still legally possess the firearm "until further notice".

Prior to the deadline being moved back, if you had a gun in your possession without a licence under the Firearms Control Act, you would be committing a "serious offence with severe penalties in terms of the Firearms Control legislation". Indeed, you could have been hit with a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

Sluggish administration?

But by the time the court pushed back the deadline, just over 50 percent of the estimated 700 000 renewal applications (out of around 2-million gun owners) had reportedly been processed by the police. So, who is to blame for such tardiness? The police? Or the gun owners themselves for waiting until the last minute to take action?

The latter is the argument of Gun Free South Africa, which insists that such pressure on SAPS administrative staff could have been avoided since "gun owners have known for the last five years that this day will come".

While this argument does hold a fair amount of water, it cannot be denied that the SAPS has a pretty poor administrative record. And furthermore, by definition, a deadline does not require those bound by it to make an early start in an attempt to make things easier for the processors.

So, while the country waits to see whether or not those who got their applications in early jumped the gun, firearm fanatics soothed by the cool steel pressed into their palms and peacemongers passively flashing peace signs, there is only one question left to be answered...

Does President Jacob Zuma have a valid licence for that machine gun he keeps singing about?

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