STATEMENT: Delaying Firearms Control Amendment Bill is right thing to do
GFSA welcomes yesterday’s decision by the parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Police to delay tabling amendments to the Firearms Control Act.
Says Adèle Kirsten, GFSA’s Director, “Yesterday’s decision is not a sign that parliament is opposed to strengthening the Firearms Control Act. Instead it ensures that the best possible version of the Bill comes to parliament, and was the right thing to […]
STATEMENT: Response to video of armed man shot in head by cop at hotel
During the recent public debate on proposed amendments to the Firearms Control Act, a
common theme was how effective guns are for self-defence. Despite the evidence that guns are not the
solution, and rather pose a risk for injury and death, the myth persisted through anecdotal evidence. This
terrible incident, leaving all the people involved traumatised, and one man fighting for his life, […]
STATEMENT: Welcome Draft Firearms Control Amendment Bill
Gun violence in South Africa has reached epidemic proportions: Nationally, guns have overtaken knives as the weapon most used in murders , while in Gauteng more people are shot and killed than die in traffic accidents. Within this context, we welcome the Draft Firearms Control Amendment Bill, and in partocular support:
- The alignment of the Firearms Control Act with global norms […]
STATEMENT: Protecting the right to peaceful protest and public safety
Gun Free SA welcomes the release by the Minister of Police Bheki Cele of the Panel of Experts Report on Policing and Crowd Management, noting that the release of the Report comes at a time of low public trust in the police, in particular the way in which the police have abused their authority and misused the less-lethal weapons at […]
STATEMENT: National Firearms Amnesty ends 31 January – Police and gun owners failure to act risks safety of SA
The safety of all who live in South Africa will continue to be at risk of gun violence because neither the police nor gun owners have acted expediently on the national firearms amnesty, which ends on 31 January. The police have done very little to publicise and encourage the public to take advantage of the 6-month amnesty, which started on […]
STATEMENT: Call for release of Marikana Panel of Experts report
More than 20 civil society organisations fighting for social justice, supported by the Marikana Commission Chairperson Judge Ian Farlam, state that meaningful engagement with the new draft SAPS Bill is being undermined due to the 2018 report of the Panel of Experts on Policing being kept secret. The organisations and individuals note with serious concern that, almost two and a […]
