Concourt’s Firearms Control Act ruling gives a clear direction on gun licensing

On June 7, 2018 the Constitutional Court unanimously ruled that sections 24 and 28 of the Firearms Control Act (2000), under which gun owners must renew their firearm licences or forfeit guns for which licences have expired to the state, are constitutional. Significantly the ConCourt noted that gun ownership is not a fundamental right under South Africa’s Bill of Rights, rather it is a privilege regulated by the Firearms Control Act (FCA). Under the Act: No person may possess a gun without a valid licence; A firearm licence is valid for a limited period of time; and Unless a gun owner has renewed his gun licence before expiry, he has committed a criminal offence and is subject to penalties. The ConCourt went on to rule that sections 24 and 28 of the Act are not vague and irrational, do not breach the right of equality and do not violate the protection of property rights as was argued by the SA Hunters and Game Conservation Association. The court also noted that the system of regular gun licence renewal brings South Africa’s gun control regime within an international legal and political gun control framework where countries worldwide require licensees to renew their licences on a regular basis. Moreover, the Act recognises government’s responsibility for public safety by instituting a system of checks and balances through regular licence renewal to ensure that a gun owner remains “fit and proper” to own a gun, thereby helping prevent gun-related crime. At the heart of […]

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