A Brief History of Guns in South Africa

By ⋅ February 14, 2013 ⋅ Post a comment
Police crime scene tape marks off the home of South African runner Oscar Pistorius in Pretoria. (Photo: REUTERS/Andrea Ettwein)

Police crime scene tape marks off the home of South African runner Oscar Pistorius in Pretoria. (Photo: REUTERS/Andrea Ettwein)

South Africa has among the highest rates of shooting deaths in the world.

The country passed legislation in the year 2000 to curb gun ownership, The Firearms Control Act, and has since seen a significant reduction in gun deaths. But gun violence remains a major problem there.

Anchor Carol Hills spoke with Adele Kirsten with “Gun Free South Africa” about the history of guns in South Africa and the current challenges, in the wake of murder charges against Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius for the alleged shooting of his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp.

Discussion

One comment for “A Brief History of Guns in South Africa”

  • Tracer1966

    Your expert said that S. Africa did not have an assault weapon “problem” like the U.S., and that S. Africa’s gun violence orients around handguns.  She added that those wishing to address gun violence must look at the data that pertains to their gun “issues.”  Well, according to the data/numbers, so-called assault weapons are a microscopic portion of gun deaths in the U.S. While I cannot cite exact numbers, I understand that more people die in the U.S. by hammer blows than through assault-style weapons.  Much like S. Africa, the overwhelming majority of gun deaths in the U.S. happen from handguns.  Please know the data about the issues that are addressed in your reports so that you can appropriately correct your “experts” and maintain clearer journalism, at least as it pertains to such a sensitive and complex issue as firearms.  Thanks you.