I am a law abiding firearm owner in South Africa. I have complied with every requirement of the Firearms Control Act. I have written competency exams, completed accredited training, passed background checks, and stored my firearms in accordance with the law.

In November 2025 a new draft Firearms Control Amendment Bill was circulated through NEDLAC and to selected stakeholders. Public statements by government and political parties confirm that this Bill will severely restrict private firearm ownership, especially for self defence, and will reduce ammunition limits to one hundred rounds per firearm.  

This Bill is being driven at a time when violent crime in South Africa remains among the highest in the world and the South African Police Service is unable to offer effective protection to many communities.

Why this Bill is a serious problem
 

The draft Bill is deeply flawed and dangerous for several reasons.

1. It makes lawful self defence almost impossible

The Bill turns self defence licences into an “exceptional circumstance” instead of recognising the practical reality that many South Africans are at daily risk of violent crime. It hands wide discretionary power to the Minister of Police and the Registrar to decide who may protect themselves and who may not.  

Instead of clear, objective criteria, ordinary people are left at the mercy of subjective decisions and political choices.

2. It punishes the law abiding instead of fixing SAPS

Government’s own research has shown that the main failures lie with SAPS and the Central Firearms Register, including corruption and an inability to manage records properly. The Prinsloo scandal, in which state issued firearms were sold to criminals, is one example.  

Rather than fixing these failures, the Bill adds more red tape for citizens who already comply with the law, while illegal guns in the hands of criminals remain the real driver of gun violence.

3. It cuts ammunition limits to unworkable levels

Reports on the draft Bill indicate that ammunition will be limited to one hundred rounds per firearm for most licence holders.  

This is simply not practical for people who need to train regularly to maintain safe handling skills. It harms responsible sport shooters and hunters and discourages regular practice, which is essential for safety.

4. It risks disarming people through abuse of protection orders

The Bill links firearm licences and competency certificates directly to interim protection orders. Even an interim order, granted without a full hearing, can lead to the immediate suspension of licences and the compulsory surrender of all firearms. If confirmed, it may result in automatic disqualification from firearm ownership.

Genuine victims must be protected, but the law also has to guard against malicious or tactical use of protection orders to disarm people unfairly. The Bill does not achieve this balance.

5. It adds costly and intrusive requirements

The Bill introduces extensive ballistic sampling, tighter rules on shared storage and transport of firearms, and restrictions on additional licences. These measures will be costly and difficult to implement, especially while the Central Firearms Register is already described as technically collapsed and institutionally incoherent in previous reviews.  

What we are asking for

We, the undersigned, call on the Minister of Police and the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa to:

• Withdraw the current Firearms Control Amendment Bill of 2025 in its present form.
• Open the process to genuine public participation, including organisations representing lawful firearm owners, the private security sector, sport shooting bodies, hunting associations, and civil society.  
• Focus first on fixing SAPS and the Central Firearms Register, including corruption, loss of state firearms, and poor record keeping.
• Retain practical and accessible self defence licensing for competent, law abiding citizens who face real threats in a country with extremely high levels of violent crime.
• Set ammunition limits and training requirements that promote safety, not ones that make regular practice impossible.
• Protect due process and the presumption of innocence, ensuring that interim measures such as protection orders cannot be abused to disarm people without a fair and final hearing.
• Recognise the positive role of responsible firearm ownership in personal safety, rural safety, and community security, instead of treating lawful owners as the problem.

Who we are
 

We are ordinary South Africans.

We include legal firearm owners, security officers, farmers, small business owners, sport shooters, hunters, and citizens who may never wish to own a firearm but who understand that the state is currently unable to protect everyone all the time.

We stand for responsible firearm ownership, for evidence based policy, and for real solutions to violent crime that focus on criminals, corruption and failed policing, not on the people who obey the law. 

Our request to you

We ask the Minister of Police, the Civilian Secretariat for Police and Members of Parliament to reject any attempt to strip lawful citizens of effective means of self defence and to replace this Bill with a transparent, consultative process that:

Fixes SAPS and the Central Firearms Register
Targets illegal firearms and corrupt officials
Respects the constitutional rights to life, security of the person and dignity
 

Please sign and share this petition so that the voices of ordinary South Africans are heard clearly in this process.