Armed and dangerous

There have been endless debates about gun control, especially in the United States where a series of mass killings by gunmen has reared its ugly head over the years. The debate on whether that country should tighten its gun laws has strangely divided opinions, with compromise legislation, which would have banned semi-automatic assault weapons and expanded background checks on owners, failing in the Senate as far as 2013. The American situation is no different to what we are experiencing back home, where there is dilly-dallying on making amendments to the Arms and Ammunition Act of 1996, despite lawmakers having extensively debated on the matter in 2016. There is no doubt that easy access to firearms is one of the main causes of gun-related violence in our country. The current laws in place do little to appease the situation and it is sad there is no provision that requires background checks of applicants and a minimum age of at least 25 years for acquiring a firearm licence. Weapons watchdog the Small Arms Survey has placed Namibia as the second highest per capita private gun-owning country in Africa. According to the survey, Namibia has 396 000 privately owned guns in circulation, including 195 000 illegal and 200 010 legal firearms. Gun violence has also increased tremendously in our country and despite calls for action to address the worrying spike, not a single amendment has been made to the existing legislation. At 15.4 guns per 100 people, Namibia has the second highest per capita civil possession of firearms in Africa. This is indeed a great concern to us considering that neighbours Botswana, who have a similar national population to ours, only has 97 000 privately owned firearms in circulation, representing a low 4.3 firearms per 100 people. The new gun safety measures being advocated by pressure groups and the Namibian police, including requiring stricter background checks for would-be gun purchasers, are key to preventing dangerous people getting guns.

These measures will also go a long way towards putting an end to gun tragedies that have rocked our nation.

For a small and supposed peaceful country to have 396 000 private guns in circulation is no joke. We should move swiftly to keep these weapons out of dangerous hands.