IN a BBC interview last July, US
President Barack Obama admitted that failure to pass “common sense gun
safety laws” in the US has been the greatest frustration of his
presidency.
Since he took office in 2008, there have
been repeated mass shootings including the 2011 Tucson Arizona shooting
in which Gabrielle Giffords, then a member of Congress and 18 others
were shot in a supermarket parking lot. Six people died that day.
Another shooting was at Emanuel African
Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina on June 17,
2015. Nine people attending Bible Study were killed by a 21-year-old who
reportedly got the gun as a birthday gift. Senior Pastor and State
Senator, Clementa C. Pinckney was among the victims and President Obama
delivered ta eulogy at his memorial.
And on December 2, 2015, 14 people were
killed and 22 seriously injured in a terrorist attack in San Bernardino,
California, which might not have occurred had the perpetrators, Syed
Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, a married couple had not had such easy
access to arms, including two assault rifles they got from a friend who
had purchased the weapons despite having mental issues.
Record 30,000 gun deaths a year
The couple had also been able to buy
1,600 rounds of ammunition, which is fairly common in the US as gun
ownership is protected by the Second Amendment. Americans can also buy
guns online and at gun fairs by simply filling out a form!
The price of this right to keep and bear
arms has been at least 30,000 deaths a year, the highest in the
developed world, to accidental shootings, suicides and mass shootings.
After years of persuading, pleading and trying to reason with obstinate
law makers and gun enthusiasts who believe any measures to curb gun
violence are equivalent to taking their guns away, President Obama took
executive action last week, outlining steps his administration will
undertake to try and reduce gun deaths. All firearms dealers must now
get a license and conduct background checks or risk criminal
prosecution.
The Algerian way
They are also required to report lost or stolen guns on a timely basis, measures several African countries already exercise.
In Algeria, it is required by law that a
record of acquisition, possession and transfer of each privately owned
firearm is retained in an official register.
Licensed firearm dealers are also
required to keep records of each firearm or ammunition purchase, sale or
transfer. Licensed gun makers are required to keep a record of each
firearm produced, for inspection purposes by a regulating authority.
In chaotic Libya
In neigbouring and troubled Libya, the
estimated number of guns held by civilians, both legally and illegally
is estimated at 900,000, about 15.51 firearms per 100 people, according
to gunpolicy.org findings. As of 2013, the percentage of households with
one or more guns was reported to be 21%.
Libya’s data is distorted by the chaos
that followed the ouster and killing of the country’s long-term dictator
Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
Otherwise, the right to private gun
ownership is not guaranteed by law and private sale and transfer of
firearms is prohibited. Dealing in firearms without a valid gun dealer’s
license is unlawful and unlawful possession of a firearm carries a
maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment. Following the fall of
Gaddafi, authorities implemented voluntary firearm surrender schemes, in
addition to weapon seizures to reduce the number of illicit firearms in
circulation.
South African law – and its breach
Partial implementation of the 2000
Firearms Control Act led to a marked reduction in firearm homicides in
South Africa, where gun violence is rampant, from 66.9 per 100,000 in
1994 to 30.9 in 2011-12.
The hope is that better implementation
of the law will further reduce those numbers. There are reportedly
453,4866 registered shotguns, 1,286,628 rifles and 2,784,4206 handguns
in civilian possession in South Africa. As of 2011, there were 2,900,000
registered guns and 1,500,000 licensed gun owners. Unlawfully owned
guns are estimated to be between 500,000 and 4,000,000.
Applicants for a gun owner’s license
are required to establish a genuine reason to possess a firearm, for
example hunting, target shooting or collection, must pass a background
check which considers criminal, mental, medical, domestic violence
record, addiction, employment, and previous firearm license records.
Third party character references for
each gun license applicant are required and where a past history or
likelihood of family violence exists, the law stipulates that a gun
license should be denied or revoked.
An understanding of firearm safety and
the law, tested in a theoretical and/or practical training course is
required before issuance of a firearm license. Gun owners must re-apply
and re-qualify for their firearm licenses every two to ten years.
Authorities maintain records of individual civilians licensed to
acquire, possess, sell or transfer a firearm or ammunition.
Licensed firearm owners are permitted to possess only one firearm per permit.
Very strict Botswana
In Botswana, civilians are not allowed
to possess automatic weapons and handguns according to the country’s
Arms and Ammunition Act of 1979.
Handguns (pistols and revolvers) are
also prohibited while civilian possession of rifles and shotguns is
regulated. With limited civilian access, mandatory background checks and
programmes to reduce civilian firearm possession and use, no wonder the
country’s annual rate of firearm homicide is just 2.987 per 100,000.
Kenya and Rwanda
Civilian possession of automatic and
semi-automatic self-loading military assault rifles is prohibited in
Kenya, as is carrying a firearm in plain view in a public place.
Concealed firearms are also prohibited in public places.
In Rwanda, civilians are not allowed to
possess “weapons of war” including rifle-sticks, folding rifles, rifles
with a barrel or a butt that can be dismantled into several parts,
firearms with silencers, firearms with toxic effects and any offensive
or secretive firearms.
As with nearly all African countries,
private possession of fully automatic weapons is prohibited but
semi-automatic assault weapons are permitted if one has a license, as
are handguns and shotguns.
The law requires that a record of the
acquisition, possession and transfer of each privately held firearm is
retained in an official register, and licensed firearm dealers are
required to keep a record of each firearm or ammunition purchase, sale
or transfer.
In line with the United Nations
Programme of Action to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade
in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects, whoever imports,
transports, possesses and trades in firearms and ammunition in violation
of the provisions of the law or participates in the illegal
manufacturing of firearms can be subjected to penalties that include 5
years’ imprisonment, fines of up to Rwf 2,000,000 (about $2,600) or
confiscation of their arms or ammunition. In addition, their licenses
are revoked. The same penalties also apply to anyone who participates in
or facilitates the commission of such acts.
Djibouti’s unique identifier
Up north in Djibouti, a unique
identifying mark on each firearm is required by law for tracking
purposes and only licensed gun owners can lawfully acquire, possess or
transfer a firearm or ammunition.
Most African countries exercise similar gun control measures.
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