Licensing Of Gun Owners: Tool Of Control

While England is an excellent place to study the deadly dangers of gun control, it is far from the only laboratory. A quick look at South Africa makes this point.

The same thing could be said of South Africa that Ann Coulter has said about California: "The host of the liberal laboratory experiment has died."

South Africa is dying. It is descending into chaos. Farmers are being murdered, but the only reaction of the racist regime of Thabo Mbeki is to eagerly approve the genocidal starvation of the opponents of neighboring Zimbabwe's dictator, Robert Mugabe.

South Africa has a new gun control law that comes right out of Sen. Charles Schumer's playbook. Gun owners are licensed, their guns registered, and the quantity of ammunition and firearms they can own is strictly limited. Most gun owners are limited to owning four firearms -- legally. Happily the country is awash in illegal guns, and hopefully the good guys will stock up while the opportunity permits.

As bad as the law is on the books, the devil, in this case, is in the details of the administration of the law. Writing for the Cape Argus (of Cape Town, South Africa), Estelle Ellis reports that about 70 percent of firearms applications are being rejected by the government. Unlike the drivers' license exams, there are no books the supplicants can study. Everything is completely arbitrary.

The law requires the police to give proper reasons and explanations for what they are doing. But as is the case in every country, the problem is in policing the police. This will always be the problem when the government is allowed to stick its nose into areas it has no legitimate reason to be involved in whatsoever. (Americans, are you listening? Do you really want to "just enforce the gun laws that are already on the books?")

One lady did get a reason for the refusal to grant her a permit -- "she had a husband to protect her." Where are the feminists NOW when we need them?

The system in South Africa also requires police officers to make a psychological and physical evaluation of an applicant's fitness to own a firearm. I have warned elsewhere about the danger of allowing psychology to be used to evaluate gun owners. Psychiatrists have been willing tools of oppression by the Nazis and the Soviets. In South Africa, such abuse is in the hands of the police. Forget the shrinks, they have gone directly to the guys with guns for such evaluations!

A prominent firearms activist in South Africa, Martin Hood, reports on a meeting between the National Commissioner of Police, Jackie Selebi, and members of the Central Firearms Registry. Hood says that: "At that meeting it was decided that too many firearms licenses were granted and that 80% of firearms license applications must in the future be refused."

The director of the Central Firearms Registry, Jaco Bothma, told firearms owners that "he would not disclose what a proper motivation for a firearm license is, because if he did, all firearm applications would have the same one." Let me guess. Self-defense is not one of the valid reasons for getting permission to own a piece?

As in England earlier, the South African gun control scheme also requires "proper" storage and requires police home visits to inspect a gun owner's storage facilities.

Meanwhile, South Africa is one of the most violent countries in the world. Gun control clearly is not designed to control crime. It is intended to control subjects.

If South Africans do not engage in massive civil disobedience and arm themselves to the teeth, Zimbabwe will be their future.

Any unrestricted rifle, shotgun, or air-rifle with a muzzle velocity exceeding 152.4 metres per second (500 feet per second) is a regulated firearm and as such has requirements to purchase, own and handle. Before anyone can buy, sell, trade or receive as a gift any such firearm: they must first apply for a permit called a Firearms Acquisition Certificate. You will have to pass a written and practical exam and first time applicants must complete a mandatory two-day shooting course. The applicant must also fill out a detailed questionnaire which is subject to review by local police and/or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The minimum waiting period to obtain a FAC is one month. FAC's are photo ID's and they expire every five years. If the rifle is to be used for hunting, then the owner must complete a hunter safety course before s/he can apply for a hunting license. A hunting license expires every year.

Restricted Firearms are: all hand guns; pistols; semi-automatic rifles; rifles shorter than 26 inches; and all half-inch barreled shotguns under 18 inches - basically any barreled weapon that is easy to conceal. In order to own and handle a restricted firearm one must have:

FAC (see above);
Permit to Travel - Before the would-be owner can actually buy the gun they must have this permit. A permit to transport only allows the owner to carry their firearm from the address they will register with the government to the address of their shooting-range membership. To obtain it, they must become a member of a Solicitor-General approved shooting range. The first-time member must complete a three-month shooting course. At that time, the shooting range provides a letter of reference to accompany the shooter's application for a permit to transport. The application contains a questionnaire which becomes subject to police and/or RCMP review. The applicant's home is also inspected to insure that they have a firearm safe or a 400 lb. locker installed at the street address where the gun will be stored.
Registration Papers - The purchaser can buy the restricted firearm but is not allowed to take it out of the store until it has been registered with the Federal government. To do this, the owner brings their proof of purchase to the local firearms registrar. Ownership (Registration) papers take roughly two weeks to process. These ownership papers must always accompany the sale, trade or gifting of the firearm.
Permit to Convey: Once registered, the owner receives this permit from the firearms registrar. It allows tehm to bring the gun from the shop to the registrar's office. At that time, the registrar and the gun owner decide upon a time for the owner to carry the firearm home. Any change of address must be reported within six days. When transporting such firearms, they must always be packed in an appropriate, locked case.
Military guns and rifles, self-loading rifles with magazines over five rounds, self-loading guns with magazines over 10 rounds, fully automatic firearms, sawed off shotguns are all prohibited firearms.

Canadian gun laws. If I get a hand gun I have to have a FAC and then get the permits to transport my gun to the range and it can only be between that range and home. Plus they inspect the house or residence to make sure that there's a gunsafe, so your gun has to be locked up meaning no self defense.

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