Case van Hattem

There can be no doubt that the people behind the guns are the problem. Statistics shows that an enormous number of police firearms are 'liberated' compared to those stolen from the public. This fact is not often put on display and is NEVER revealed by politicians and police officials.

The number of civilians (and policemen and security officials, for that matter) shot by criminals vs the number of criminals shot is also not common knowledge. Both statistics would destroy any vestige of credibility that the police and politicians have regarding the reduction in guns owned.

What is important is guns possessed, not guns legally owned!

If the majority of stolen guns are not taken from the civilians, why penalise us? It is a cold fact that the police cannot protect all of the people, and we do not realistically expect that they will ever be able to. So what justification is there for taking our own means of protection away?

Then, as an absolute show stopper, why does nobody talk about the massive arms smuggling business into South Africa across all borders? We have thousands of kilometres of borders ? land and sea ? and they are as porous as a colander. Guns flow through them every single day and night. And the authorities want to take guns out of the hands of responsible civilians and potential victims?

Mr Zuma needs to realise that we now have far more black gun owners, who prior to 1994 had to defend themselves with sticks and cane knives. They are even more at risk than the white population, who live in safer areas. Is he going to disarm people preferentially? Or disarm everyone regardless? Either way, he is looking for a fight second to none and will start a ?prohibition? type scenario but with illegal guns, instead of liquor.

I personally would rather face a court of law after protecting myself with an illegal gun than face a coffin lid!

Rikkie Schonken

A few (admittedly one is one too many) policemen get killed in the line of duty and our president calls on policemen and women to shoot to kill. I have no problem with that, provided the police officer exercises due judgment, that the attack on him/her was life-threatening and that the attack was in process or imminent (the test for a plea of ?self defence?).

Now the same president says that there are ?too many guns in circulation?. Clearly he is referring to legally licensed, privately-owned firearms. I?m confused now and would like to ask a couple of questions to try to clarify this:

  • In the last year, how many legally licensed civilian firearms were used in the execution of a crime?
  • In the last year, how many SAPS/SANDF firearms were used in the execution of a crime?
  • In the last year, how many legally licensed civilian firearms were lost/stolen/misplaced?
  • the last year, how many SAPS/SANDF firearms were lost/stolen/misplaced?
  • In the last year, how many SAPS members died at the hands of armed criminals?
  • In the last year, how many civilians died at the hands of armed criminals?
  • Why is it that our president places a higher value on a police officer?s life than that of a law-abiding citizen?

    And finally: could it be that our president is trying to tell us something?

    MM

    I am panicky at the thought of policeman randomly shooting at people ? and all that they need to do to get away with it is to make sure that by the time someone else gets on the scene there is a gun in the dead person?s hands!

    The thought that we are clearly being unarmed (or an attempt is being made by the government to unarm their citizens), while giving police forces power to shoot at anyone, makes me even more uneasy.

    How easy will it not be for a government to oppress their citizens if the government has the guns and the citizens may not have any? There are better ways of dealing with the problem.

    For instance: why not rather look at the current judicial system and the reasons why so many criminals are caught time after time. If the same person gets caught twice, why are they even considered for parole?

    What will happen tommorrow?

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