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President Cyril Ramaphosa will not be on ‘Podcast And Chill’. Photo: GCIS/flickr

Firearms Control Bill: Ramaphosa looks to courts on ‘self-defence’ issue

President Ramaphosa said on Thursday that he believes that owning a firearm should always come down to defending yourself.

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President Cyril Ramaphosa will not be on ‘Podcast And Chill’. Photo: GCIS/flickr

President Cyril Ramaphosa said during a rare media briefing on Thursday 3 June that implementing the highly controversial Firearms Control Amendment Bill – which proposes far more stringent restrictions on gun owners – needs to endure legal muster before being constitutionally approved. 

He said that some of the proposed restrictions over owning a firearm because of a need for self-defence should be addressed in the courts, because the judiciary is best qualified to rule on circumstances pertaining to this need. 

Ramaphosa: Courts should rule on gun control  

Speaking on Thursday afternoon, Ramaphosa was asked about whether he thought that the proposed legislation to remove self-defence as a criteria for applying for a gun licence is sensible. He responded by saying that he is of the view that under the right circumstances, owning a gun to defend yourself is suitable. 

“On the issue of firearms… I’ve always believed that if you have a firearm, and you have to use it, from a legal point of view you’d be defending yourself, but only if you were under threat,” he said. 

“The removal of that consideration, in my view, would have to be tested by the courts. They are the ones, for the last 100 years, who have had to rule on issues of self defence. They have had to rule on whether it is right for you to have defended yourself, your body, your family, your property from threat,” he continued. 

It is unclear at what point Ramaphosa believes that the courts would be required to intervene – before or after an incident takes place, or prior to an application being successfully approved. 

“So I think in the end, it would have to be our judiciary ruling on that. I guess the courts will second guess what the legislation wants to achieve on that,” he said. 

Petition launched against controversial Bill

Police Minister Bheki Cele said in May that the amendments should not be interpreted as a means for government to disarm citizens.

“There is no right to bear arms in our Constitution and the Firearm Control Act in its current form grants no such right to citizens either, owning a gun in this country remains a privilege made possible through the Firearms Controls Act,” Cele said.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) insist that spiralling crime rates necessitate that the Bill be more accessible to ordinary citizens living in fear, and have called on South African citizens to submit comments as the draft legislation endures public scrutiny. 

The opposition party have launched a petition against the proposed Firearms Control Amendment Bill, with government has already receiving more than 17 000 comments on the controversial proposed legislation, which has clearly raised strong views about gun control among SA citizens.