Gun act saga hits court
23 June 2009

The legality of the Fire Arms Control Act, that came into effect five years ago, will be challenged in the North Gauteng High Court on 23 June 2009.

The South African Hunters and Game Conservation Association will bring an urgent application requesting that the 30 June deadline for the renewal of licences be postponed. The association has argued that the act will lead to the large scale prosecution of law-abiding gun owners who obtained their permits under the old law.

It plans to take the matter to the Constitutional Court but wants the high court to order that old licences remain valid until the country's highest court has ruled on the matter.

At the heart of their argument is the police's apparent inability to process renewal applications on time.

It has been estimated that around 700 000 gun owners have applied for renewals but only 52 percent of those applications have been processed so far.
Eyewitness News