From: lucio@phyrql.Alt.ZA (Lucio de Re)
Subject: Re: Dangerous Statements ....:
Reply-To: lucio@proxima.Alt.ZA
Organization: MegaByte Digital Communications
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 09:45:43 GMT

Philip Machanick <philip@concave.cs.wits.ac.za> writes:

>In article <565@blue.cis.pitt.edu> Paul M Mweene, pmmst8+@pitt.edu writes:
>>This would be the logical situation. Boer law allows whites to have
>>18 guns , including grenade launchers and assault rifles, blacks are
>>not allowed to come any where near a gun.

Two incorrect statements, although not remote from the truth:  Semi-auto-
matic rifles and automatic pistols (UZIs etc) and anything with a greater
repeat rate than that are next to totally unlicensable.  For the record,
a gunsmith I happen to know has a licenced semi-automatic .22 rifle: he
won't tell me how much I should pay him for it should I successfully
apply for a licence (I'd have to petition the Minister of Police directly).

It is also true that whites have little (I'd say none, but things are
getting tighter) trouble licensing the more conventional firearms, with
no real limit on number, although it seems that a household (I wonder
how they actually define that?) is not entitled to more than twelve
weapons (I guess they make some sort of exceptions for hunting and/or
sporting firearms).

I also have heard that in the "border" areas it was possible to obtain
licences for a particular assault rifle; the idea was to make it
possible for farmers to defend themselves against "terrorist" attacks.

As far as I recall, this applied almost exclusively to the Eastern
Transvaal, and probably helped assist Renamo bands (that's an opinion,
nothing else).

As concerns blacks, discretionary legislation is in effect: coloureds
must provide a certificate of competence, apparently because they have
had no military training (nor have I, nor any of my female friends, but
there's distinctly little logic).  So-called natives _do_ have some
serious difficulty getting a licence: I have seen a very few armed
blacks, (almost?) exclusively members of security patrols.


>I've never applied for permission to own a weapon (nor do I intend to
>ever own one) so I don't know the specifics of the law but I would be
>interested to know your source for this.

Just for the record, members of the shooting club I belong to (yes, I
own firearms (plural) and prefer the thought that I can handle them
to risking shooting myself or my friends by accident), complain, in
their whining, fascist manner that only blacks can get away with AK-47s.

Of course, I try to counter with the argument that they could probably
also cross the border to Mozambique and get themselves a cheap cache
of illegal firearms, but they insist they are law-abiding citizens...

I've heard that a few policemen have acquired licences for these,
but after some (reversible) modification that inhibited the automatic
and semi-automatic action - so much for the law applying to all equally.

As for makala's sources, Phil, I think you're asking a bit much, and
I'll have to take his side on this (ignoring the hyperbole).  There is
legislation being considered to place more stringent requirements on
firearm ownership.  The fact that it is being fought tooth-and-nail by
SAGA strikes me as odd, but then SAGA has the interest of existing and
prospective gun owners at heart (and for all that I'm one, I personally
fine legislation lacking, not excessively limiting, I think a minimum
requirement would be a certificate of competence and regular revision,
no less than for car drivers).

But returning to makala's sources, the present legislation is so loose
only the Minister of Police can have a final say: between the applicant
and the Minister is a well-protected office in Pretoria that does not
have to divulge _any_ information whatsoever as to why it denied a person
a firearm licence.  Furthermore, I have attempted to establish some
contact with this office and I have not even been able to establish where
in Pretoria it is situated, not even its name...  I doubt that makala
could be expected to do any better.

If you want a few more details about gun legislation, I can dig up further
information, but there is precious little that is not of a discretionary
nature.
-- 
Lucio de Re (lucio@phyrql.Alt.ZA)
The supernatural does not exist, but it gives me the creeps...
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african