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Just who is behind 'Gun Free South Africa?

Gun Free South Africa is a small organisation of perhaps 10 key management people, supported by small numbers of employees and volunteers, dedicated to removing the right to private ownership of guns from all citizens of South Africa.

They are a part of the UN-led coalition against small arms and have managed to prevail upon the government of SA to enact draconian laws suppressing the right of law-abiding citizens to own firearms. As their title states, it is their ambition to see a gun-free SA, against the wishes and constitiutional rights of every legitimate gun-owner.

They have not been elected by anybody in SA - their mandate to pursue these objectives comes not from South Africa, not it's government nor it's people - but from the United Nations and various UN and UN - created and funded bodies aligned to the same objectives - these objectives are sought worldwide by such bodies, as part of a global anti-gun campaign.

Regrettably Gun Free South Africa, and indeed the whole anti-gun movement started by the UN some years ago, has designed a programme which is extremely dangerous to honest people and extremely friendly to violent criminals.

Gun Free South Africa (GFSA) was formed in 1994 with the stated aim of reducing the number of firearms in South African society.

Their known funding:

Oxfam - International HQ in London
The Southern Africa Trust - based Midrand, Gauteng, South Africa - claim that - "The Southern Africa Trust is an independent agency that supports organisations and processes to deepen and widen engagement in policy dialogue with a regional impact on poverty"
The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust - Based in York, England. Claim to "...support work that promotes a just and peaceful South Africa".
HorizonT3000 - Austrian Organisation for Development Cooperation

Other supporting organisations in South Africa:

Business Against Crime, Black Sash, Child Accident Prevention Foundation of South Africa, Disabled People of South Africa, The Human Rights Committee, Human Rights Institute of South Africa, People Opposing Women Abuse, Quaker Peace Centre, South African Association of Youth Clubs, South African NGO Coalition, South African Society of Physiotherapy and Red Cross Children’s Hospital.

What is this global campaign against arms?

Stated strategic objectives of Gun Free South Africa are:

To reduce the demand for and use of guns by young people.
To increased popular support for the reduction of firearms.
Effective and strict implementation of the Firearms Control Act.
To reduce the use of firearms in gender based and inter-personal violence in selected high-risk communities working with GFSA.

They also say: "We are deeply concerned about the high levels of gun violence in South Africa and the effects that this has on human life, on human security, on social capital, and on transformation and development. We believe that the best solution would be the abolition of civilian firearm ownership. However, we see the Firearms Control Act (FCA) as an important tool for reducing gun violence. Research shows that it has already made a major contribution in reducing gun-related violence in this country."

Their stated vision includes: "A South Africa where there will be no need for anyone to own or carry a firearm."

Sounds reasonable to any right-thinking person, doesn't it? But the padding in these statements does nothing to obscure the central truth of what GFSA is all about - "We believe that the best solution would be the abolition of civilian firearm ownership" - and by degrees and subterfuge this is what they are working to achieve.

"He who goes unarmed in paradise had better be sure that that is where he is." — James Thurber

Unfortunately we have not yet reached that utopian condition of paradise in South Africa - indeed the current tidal wave of crime tells us that we are a long way off achieving even a semblance of that! None of these realities seems to touch or moderate the agenda of the ostrich-like gun control and disarmament lobby to safeguard the interests of law-abiding citizens wishing to ensure that they are prepared for defence against violent criminal attack.

The vision they espouse of "A South Africa where there will be no need for anyone to own or carry a firearm." would indicate that they expect that there may come a time when criminals have somehow disappeared from society entirely, thus no need for defensive firearms - or is it perhaps that they foresee a time when the police are able to individually protect each and every citizen as he or she goes about their lives - like having your own bodyguard, perhaps? Or more ominously do they foresee a time when defensive use of a firearm will in and of itself, as has been the case in the UK, be a criminal offence?

It is pretty clear to see the woolly thinking in all of this and the danger to the law-abiding - neither condition on which their "vision" rests can be achieved in the foreseeable future of SA, although such statements do have appeal on a quick reading. And thereby hangs the problem - the entire misguided UN - led anti-gun movement has been an appeal to emotions, without any foundation in reason - or indeed in reasonableness.

In any event - what about the here and now? - our Crime Reports and Defence Reports on this website demonstrate clearly how prevalent is gun-crime in SA - and how people with legally-owned guns are daily putting up a fight - mostly successfully when they are suitably equipped and able.

Whatever utopian society may lie at some time in the future imaginings of GFSA people, that time is not here and not now - should that unlikely utopia ever arrive it will be solely through the efforts of decent citizens - not to disarm the law-abiding - but by DISARMING AND DEALING WITH CRIMINALS!