Following President Jacob Zuma's recent comments that the country is "too armed", we asked iafrica.com readers to share their opinions on guns in South Africa. Here's what our readers had to say...

Gerard Schultz

Is gun control required in SA? Absolutely yes. The SAPS statistics have proved year after year, for more than two decades, that 99.95 percent of gun-related crimes are committed with unlicensed weapons.

That leaves 0.05 percent of gun-related crimes committed with licensed weapons. We must work tirelessly to rid SA of the scourge of crimes committed with unlicensed guns. When we have solved 99.95 percent of the problem, we can decide what to do about the remaining 0.05 percent.

No logical person should even be thinking about the 0.05 percent end of the problem before the 99.95 percent side is completely under control. Starting by addressing law abiding gun owners reeks of an agenda that does not go to crime control. Spending hundreds of millions to put in place a new Firearms Control Act, regulating licensed guns (the 0.05 percent section) and then wringing one’s hands in despair when the 99.95 percent bit is not paying attention, is stupidity.

Huge successes have been recorded in some states in the USA with some simple laws.

When sentence is handed down for any crime, that sentence is doubled if the crime was committed with a firearm.

Some areas require gun ownership by all who are not disqualified. Crime has plummeted in those areas. The third time a criminal is convicted of a violent crime it carries a life sentence without parole.

Simple — all that is required is the will to do it.

Jim Shafer

I wonder how many times the following must be said? “When gun ownership is against the law only the criminals will have guns.”

Citizens must always be prepared to protect themselves since the local and national police forces cannot. Here in the United States, the two cities with the strictest gun laws (Chicago and New York) are where a citizen is most likely to get shot or victimized.

I prefer being able to protect myself rather than depending on an undermanned, underfinanced police force.

Johan Wessels

Ruger, a firearms company in the USA, used to include bumper stickers with the sale of their handguns that said: "If you outlaw guns, only outlaws will own guns".

This is still true. With the collapsing law enforcement system in SA (read police, courts and correctional services) this is evident today.

Another point in history is prohibition during the 1930s in the US. If you drive some 'evil' out (read underground) you will not be able to manage it, and it will come back and bite you. The problem is not the system but the people in the system. There is no liability and accountability… they always blame someone or something else. It is now guns.

Guns do not kill, people kill with guns!

William Andrew Alexander

The criminal element in South Africa is typically armed with the ubiquitous AK47. The AK has never been a weapon that could be purchased by the general public… some examples are in the hands of collectors, but the bulk of these weapons are remnants of the various past and present conflicts on the African continent.

Law-abiding citizens are not the only source of arms for the criminal. I would like to know how many firearms have been stolen or lost from the state. We need real facts to pinpoint the source of the ‘criminal gun’. We can then track the origin of each weapon used in criminal activity.

Let's start looking at this tally.

On page two, three more iafrica.com readers ask some crucial questions...
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