Gun Control and Flight of Fancy
It’s no secret, politicians love to perform, especially in front of an audience and our government is no exception. A few examples might be our beloved president dancing like an imbecile on national television, Malema blubbering like an idiot in front of an even more idiotic crowd of brainwashed fans and, recently, our intrepid police ministry spokesperson Zweli Mnisi bragging about the recent drop in violent crime statistics and it being the result of recently enforced gun control laws. Hearing this is enough to make any rational thinking South African shudder, especially with the holiday season just around the corner.
We shudder because we know it’s not true, just as we know that no amount of gun control is ever going to rid South Africa of violent crime. The government’s belief that stricter gun control laws will somehow make South Africa’s violent crime problems magically disappear is one of many flights of fancy. It is simply not grounded in reality. The problem isn’t gun control but illegal gun s smuggles in to South Africa. Do you think that our gun control laws prevent criminals from obtaining guns? Not in the slightest bit. In fact, our restrictive gun control laws could make it difficult for potential victims to buy guns for self-protection.
The criminals doesn’t care about gun laws. In fact, the more restrictive gun laws are, the easier it would be for a criminal to rob. Basically, it means that, with restrictive gun laws in play, a potential victim can’t procure a firearm and that just creates another unarmed mark for a criminal. If anything, restrictive gun laws actually helps criminality in South Africa by taking away the means of self-protection from people that can’t qualify or afford a firearm. One would think that, with violent crime being what it is in this country that politicians would actually try to come up with a solution.
But, judging by our dancing president, a youth leader that don’t seem to think when he speaks and a police minister manipulating statistics for her own ends, it would seem that finding a solution to gun violence is the last thing on their minds. So, where does that leave us? Well, very simply, we only have the option of defending ourselves. Between the government’s dreams of gun control and flights of fancy and the criminal’s insatiable greed, we need to arm ourselves. Because, if the government won’t wage war against the criminals, we would need to. After all, it’s our liberties that are being violated, not theirs.
- An Anonymous
