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South Africa’s gun control regime is an American gun control advocate’s wet dream. “Ownership of a firearm is conditional on a competency test and several other factors, including background checking of the applicant, inspection of an owner’s premises, and licensing of the weapon by the police,” wikipedia.org reports. The lag time between application and acceptance is . . .

Two years.

That’s if the government gives a South African permission to keep and bear arms. Apparently, that’s not a thing (although bribery frequently is).

In a recent lawsuit, the Black Gun-Owners Association of South Africa claimed that 40,000 black people were refused firearm licenses between 2004 and 2010.

As BGOA chairman Abios Khoele told a press briefing,

“This government is hell-bent on disarming black people because they’ve made so many service delivery promises to them which they have not fulfilled. They are scared that if blacks are armed they will turn on the government.”

Same as it ever was.

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38 COMMENTS

  1. So this whole racism thing isnt just a problem here????
    I thought the rest of the world was all snowflakes and unicorn farts.
    Been watching to much cnn and bloomberg tv i guess.
    Anyway, Fight the good fight.

    • Humans are really, really good at finding differences between “us” and “them.”

      Quite often, the smaller the difference, the greater the rancor.

      • That explains why nobody riles up Antifa like the Neo-Nazis. They’re two sides of the same coin. International Socialists are just National Socialists with bigger plans.

        • Say what you like about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it’s an ethos…

          And let’s also not forget – let’s *not* forget, Dude – that keeping wildlife… an amphibious rodent… for uh… domestic… you know… within the city…

          …that isn’t legal either.

      • You seem to be implying that blacks cannot be racist. I can assure you, anyone of any race, color or creed can be just as prejudice as any other.

        In general, ‘they’ are no better than ‘us’. No matter who ‘they’ or ‘us’ are. We are all humans, we are all similar. Evil and hate belong to all groups.

        • But in this case, it’s the black government that is being accused of racism towards black applicants.

          It’s true that “we’re better than them” is a basic human impulse.

          But “they’re better than us” is a bit more rare.

        • IMO, that’s not so much racism, but instead a knowledge that the local police/prosecutor won’t care as much, thus the chances of being punished are lower than if they were equal opportunity thugs.

  2. South Africa’s gun control regime is an American gun control advocate’s wet dream. “Ownership of a firearm is conditional on……

    An American gun control advocate’s wet dream is the complete, by-force and permanent (at gunpoint, the irony) disarming of all citizens not in lock-step with American gun-control advocates (ex.: Your typical every-day run-of-the-mill Democrat, along with RINO’s like Mikey B., et al.).

    • Kenny Solomon,

      ” … disarming of all citizens not in lock-step with American gun-control advocates …”

      If you really dig into it, you will find that American gun-control advocates will not be satisfied with simple disarmament: they actually want you eliminated.

      At best that means banishing everyone who is not in lock-step. At worst that means imprisoning or killing everyone who is not in lock-step.

      • The radical anti-gun groups consider Rendition, Enhanced Interrogation (socialists are big on forced confessions), and survivors of the interrogations hearded into the “showers for delousing” to be the final solution. Although some might be spared the latter fate to earn pennance through labor (ie: Arbeit Macht Frei).

  3. TTaG,

    For the love of all that is good and decent, will you please fix your application so that I don’t have to keep typing my name and e-mail over and over?

    — I have reset cookies.
    — I have deleted Internet history items.
    — I have closed and re-opened my browser (Google Chrome).
    … to no avail.

      • Aven,

        Thanks for the thought. This site changed to another hosting company several days ago. Prior to that change, I only had to type my name and e-mail once after I opened a browser. Since the change, I have to type my name and e-mail when I open most articles, no matter how short or long my browser has been open.

      • Which, if true, shows a distinct problem.
        IE is not one of the more-used browsers, but IS from Microsoft.
        I’ve run into this from other sites. The IT people cut their teeth on Microsoft software, and cut-and-paste to save time, giving preference to IE.
        For obvious reasons, MS doesn’t follow up on this.
        I use Firefox, and must also enter my info. But, since I use Dashlane, at least it’s easier.

    • Aven, same problem here, and I tried everything suggested.

      I’m considering asking a call of hands on this issue *daily* until it’s finally resolved.

      If it weren’t for auto-complete, it would really annoy me.

      (Win 8.1, current Firefox browser.)

      • XP(!) and current Firefox. Same issue, and were it not for auto-complete, I’d post even less (really busy right now).

    • All I have to do is click on the field and the drop down has my name and email. But I am on a computer not a phone.

  4. TTAG now uses article titles the same way every other annoying website does: “This video will make you cry”. That is the same way every other bullshit website titles their articles with the formula something action + some emotional response that is overblown.

  5. ignoring the widespread IQ difference between white and black is deadly. They have almost no empathy. watch a rap video or the NFL for 3 minutes. Just empty, wire headed, sclerotic eyed, subhuman criminals, that the jewish owned media has fetishized. Denying any black a gun is a wise investment in a secure future.

    • Gosh Herb what an enlightened point of view you have!

      It makes one think of Shakespeare. The Herb doth protest …

      I think you have disproved your point quite well.

      • Right. One should never assume that the sarcasm is so obvious that the “/sarc” tag is not needed; for doing so causes sass between You and Umption.

        (And on another note: I didn’t have to re-add my user name and e-mail address. For curious readers, I’m using Windows 10 and Google Chrome, here.)

  6. If you want something depressing, ride The Blue Train and look at the shanty towns built alongside the tracks.

    Yeah, SA gun control sucks but all of Africa has larger fish to fry.

  7. Lmao the black ruled government that has racial quotas for businesses and regularly ignores the torture-murders of white farmers just wants to keep a bruva down.

    How one group manages to be the victim when it rules the roost boggles my mind. Maybe the “gun kwantrol is waycist” line only works in colonial countries, hm?

  8. As a South African firearm owner, I just wanted to weigh in on this (my first ever comment here) as it’s not strictly accurate. First off, although by US standards the gun laws are restrictive, it’s by no means that difficult to own firearms here in SA. And while at times in the past there have been extensive delays in the granting of licenses, I’m pleased to be able to report that for the last few years the process has speeded up significantly, and the CFR (the department responsible for licensing etc.) has made significant strides in clearing backlogs which were largely caused by changes in legislation.

    Effectively, there are 2 steps to go through: First, one must apply for and obtain a competency certificate, certifying that the applicant has satisfactorily demonstrated that they can safely and competently use the relevant class of firearm (handgun, rifle, shotgun) and that they are familiar with the law as it relates to owning and using said firearm.

    This involves both a theoretical (written) test, covering safe handling, malfunction clearing, safety checking etc. and a practical excercise. Most ranges offer competency testing, and provide the documentation that must accompany your application if you pass the tests.

    Receiving my competency certificate from the police took 3 months from application to receipt.

    Then once the competency certificate has been granted, it’s necessary to apply for a license for whichever firearm you have purchased. (Linked to the firearm serial number.) This does include an inspection, but it’s not of the premises per se, it’s purely to confirm that you have a safe that meets the requirements and is correctly installed. (Literally a 5 minute process.)

    From application for my section 13 license (firearm for self-defence, equivalent to your CCW permit) to my receipt thereof, another 3 months. So a total of 6 months all told. Not great, but not two years. (Even at the height of the delays, two years would be at the extreme end of the spectrum, certainly not the average.) It is a lot of admin (you need references, pics of your safe, whole bunch of stuff)

    Personally, I don’t have much problem with most of the requirements. Seems sensible that people who want to carry a gun should have to demonstrate that they can do so safely, and are aware of the legal implications of using it, and under what circumstances it is legally permissible to do so.

    The only thing I don’t like is that they’re licensed according to purpose. I only have my EDC gun (a Glock 26), but if I want to buy another handgun, I can’t carry it. I would have to license it for sport-shooting purposes for example, or if it was a rifle, for hunting. Then I can keep it at home, take it to the range or to competitions or on hunts etc. and own ammo for it, but I can’t carry it for self-defence. If I wanted to, I would have to cancel my existing S13 license, either sell the G26 or re-apply for a license under a different classification, and then apply for an S13 license for the new one I wanted to carry.

    (Oh, the other thing I don’t like is the ammo restriction…only allowed to keep 200 rounds per licensed firearm. (Doesn’t count for ammo purchased at a range for the purposes of using it at the range, and it’s different for people who reload, but quite restrictive.)

    All that said, while we don’t have a constitutional right to own guns (and gun ownership here is not a political statement as it often seems to be in the US), at least the government recognises that it’s citizens can have a legitimate need for firearms and while it isn’t as easy as it is in the US, it’s a lot easier than other countries with total bans.

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