The FF Plus welcomes the decision by Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, to request an amnesty period of six months from Parliament during which illegal firearms can by turned over to the police.
History has shown that none of the firearms that are handed in at the police have ever been used to commit a crime. That proves that amnesty will not encourage criminals to hand in their weapons.
However, this period of amnesty still offers firearm owners, who have neglected to apply for the renewal of their firearm licences in time, the opportunity to apply for a new licence for the same firearm.
Minister Cele suggested that the amnesty period must start on 1 September this year and continue to the end of February 2019.
What needs to happen next as part of this process is that the decision must first be adopted by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee for Police on 16 August and then by the National Assemblies after that.
This amnesty period is a golden opportunity for owners of firearms of which the licences have already expired to hand in the weapon and then apply for a new licence for the same weapon so as to regain ownership of the firearm.
Dr Pieter Groenewald, leader of the FF Plus, is calling on firearm owners, who have neglected to apply for the renewal of their firearm licence in time, to make use of this opportunity to apply for a licence so that they do not have to forfeit their firearms.
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