SUBMISSION TO THE SAFETY & SECURITY PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE OF PARLIAMENT ON THE REVISED FIREARMS CONTROL BILL
Women Against Community Abuse (WACA)
14 June 2000

Our view on the gun control bill is that our consultation with communities is we agree that people can have guns and we are not against any person having a gun, but we are saying stricter regulations should be applied and a person must be checked in consultation with certain steps before he or she is given such a right.

Steps to be taken before any person gets a licence:

Fitness:
·
Mental Fitness
· Emotional Control
· Respect
· Environment
· Negligence
· Blindness
· Epilepsy

Responsibility:
·
Purpose for owning gun
· Value of property to be checked
· Role in community (eg) Police – Priest – Politician- Doctor – Businessman

Reason to own a gun:
·
All security companies should have guns
· All businesses which are registered

Safe Place:
·
That a person should have a well built safe
· Police be allowed to check whether the gun is still in the safe

Renewal of Licence
Renewal of licence must be annually in order to ensure fitness of a person.

Gunfree Zones
That gunfree zones must have a sign of gunfree (eg schools – church – clinics- hospitals – workplace – public area – taverns – individuals who may wish to have such a sign).

A summit which was held on 01.08.00 in the Eastern Region at Winterveldt has supported the proposals. We would appreciate Parliament to take this very
seriously……as we see people being killed daily. Human beings are not respected and women and children are the victims of such killings and intimidation is not
acceptable.

We plead that we love our country and we wish the gun control Bill would be speedily
Implemented.