Last week government announced several proposed amendments to the country's existing firearms legislation, one of which includes a ban on owning a gun for self-defence purposes. If enacted, the legislation would ban South Africans from getting gun licences for the purpose of self-defence.
Had Lance Allam not had a firearm in his possession when he was violently attacked by armed criminals, he says he and his family may not have been around today.
Allam, a director at Medway medical group, was attacked by three armed men outside his home in Cape Town a few years ago.
“I was the victim of a very violent carjacking in my area,” says Allam.
“There had been a few carjacking murders in the preceding months and when I arrived home at 8pm one evening I was jumped by three armed carjackers in my driveway.”
With their pistols drawn they demanded Allam’s house and car keys.
“Inside my home was my wife and two children aged five and two. I could sense from their extreme aggression and from the knowledge that victims being murdered by armed criminals was very regular in South Africa, and that my life and that of my family was in imminent mortal danger.”
Allam refused to give in to the criminal's demands knowing that his wife and two little kids' lives would be in jeopardy.
Instead he ran for cover and drew his firearm.
“Immediately a shootout ensued and I was shot twice but managed to shoot the hijackers and saved my family. I have no doubt that if I was unarmed, I would have been another victim of a senseless violent crime. The police cleared me after the incident as it was a legitimate and legal incident of self defence.”
While Allam was able to protect his family, other South African gun owners may not be able to do the same in the future should proposed amendments to the country’s existing firearms legislation be passed.
Last week government announced the proposed amendments, one of which includes a ban on owning a gun for self-defence purposes.
If enacted, the legislation would ban South Africans from getting gun licences for the purpose of self-defence.
More than 22 000 people have already backed a petition by the DA to keep “self-defence” as a reason to own a firearm in SA.
Allam is hoping the proposed amendments will not be passed, as he believes it will leave South African vulnerable to violent criminals.
“I truly believe that it is important in a country like ours with such a high crime rate and the South African Police Service (Saps) by their own admission struggling to cope, that all South African citizens of legal age and who can demonstrate to be responsible be allowed to defend themselves in the most practical way possible,” said Allam.
“There are also by all accounts so many illegal guns in circulation with criminals that we should not be deprived of having to have inferior weapons to protect ourselves and our families.”
With the murder rate being five times higher than the world average and with rampant robberies in the country, Allam believes it is vital that South Africans should be able to defend themselves.
“There is no doubt that I feel safer with a firearm. I carry a firearm on me every day for the legal and legitimate purpose of protecting myself and my family from harm. In the research done by the senior forensic investigation lecturer at UNISA, Dr Rudolph Zinn, it was ascertained that in 2007 already there were almost 15 000 house robberies in South Africa and that one in three house robbers had committed murder before and would on average commit 104 crimes before the law finally caught up with him.
“Any law to be passed from a constitutional point of view has to be rational, it can not be rational to deprive legal gun owners of their firearms where the amount of crime committed with legal firearms is so small that Saps refer to it as a ’statistical insignificance’.
“The above statistic doesn’t take into account other runaway carjackings, business robberies and violent crime where honest and innocent citizens are murdered without regard to life.”
Allam labelled the new proposed amendments as “totally ridiculous” and one that lacks rationality.
“In a country with crime levels as high as they are and where the police are unable to protect the law abiding citizens, and where crimes are committed with illegal firearms, which are often sourced from the South African Police Service, our government should rather go after the criminals and illegal guns and upgrade Saps ability to deal with those.”
The SA Gun Owners Association (Saga) have also criticised the proposal.
“We feels that the Bill is draconian, unnecessary, irrational and not reasonable at all,” said Damian Enslin, the chairperson of Saga.
“It’s completely irrational and unreasonable... especially when we are in the throws of crime rate that government and Saps cannot control, and where the ordinary citizens of South Africa can not rely on the Saps to protect them.”
Enslin believes law abiding citizens who choose to own firearms for self-defence should be allowed to own firearms.
“We are not sure of government’s reasoning, other than they are clearly showing that they are against private citizens owning firearms for self-defence purposes.”
Should the proposed amendments be passed, Enslin believes this will come as a welcome boost to criminals in the country.
“As criminals will be aware that ordinary law-abiding citizens may no longer own or possess firearms for self-defence, they would become soft targets and at the mercy of the criminal element.
“Saga believes in the right of law abiding and responsible citizens to have the right to choose to own and use firearms for sport, self-defence, recreation and other legitimate purposes.”