South Africa: Constitutional Assembly Resources

22 February 1995

We would like to make the following submission for consideration in the new constitution which falls under:

Theme Committee 4

Constitutional Principle 2

Entrenched Bill of Rights

Sub-Section 5 - Freedom and Security of the Person

The basis of our submission falls under the general heading of the fundamental right to life. As an extension of this fundamental right, we believe that every individual should have the legal ability to protect that life and, therefore, should have the legal right to own the means to protect that life in the most efficient manner.

By means we are referring to legal private gun ownership. Fortunately the hand gun is small and light enough to be carried all the time, and does not require great skill, strength or good physical condition to use effectively. Handguns are truly "the great equaliser in society", Handguns can be used effectively by the old and the weak, who are the prime targets of criminals, to protect themselves against the young and the strong and by the one against the many.

Although we do not have accurate statistics for South Africa, we have accurate statistics from America which inform us that legally owned firearms are used by citizens more than a million times per year to protect themselves in that country, thereby saving thousands of innocent lives every year, Although not widely reported in South Africa, the same situation exists here. The number of lives saved from criminal violence by legally owned firearms runs into many thousands per year in South Africa.

If we are to be a truly democratic and free nation then every law abiding citizen should have the entrenched right to own firearms to protect his life, his family's life and his property as a fundamental human right to life.

MERVYN & LIZ ULLMAN