Firearm Ownership is the Core of a Free Society

Democracy as a system and a virtue means nothing if the constituents of a society do not have the resources or will to make their voices heard.

Democracy as a system and a virtue means nothing if the constituents of a society do not have the resources or will to make their voices heard. Of all the successful republics in history, three things were held dear. The right to property ownership, as voters and citizens need a place to call their own within a free society to have skin in the game; a role in the society, where they aren’t actively excluded by the powers that be; and possibly most important of all – firearm ownership.

Weapons, firearms, and self-defence are the core of the free society. Of course, all powers use weapons and violence to get what they want. But it is no surprise that the creation of the modern republic is linked to the proliferation of firearms. The freest we have ever been has been thanks to the muzzle of a musket or the lever-action of a Winchester. And even pre-firearms, societies that were relatively free defended themselves with the use of weapons that didn’t require the organisation and force of despots.

People are free when their governments are afraid of them. And they are even freer when they do not need to rely on often incompetent police to defend them from thugs and criminals.

An armed society may not necessarily be a polite society, but it’s definitely a lot freer. And freedom means more than just an esoteric virtue.

Freedom means safety for one’s family and property on one’s own terms. It means being able to make a choice. And it means not living by the dictates of a government that, frankly, doesn’t really care about you, either in word or deed.

Firearm Ownership in South Africa Under Threat

In South Africa, the government is trying to pass the Firearm Control Amendment bill, which among other disastrous things, wants to ban the ownership of a firearm for self-defence. This is while the police are being de-funded and the government redirects that money to their own personal bodyguards. The government doesn’t want you to be able to protect yourself, and the shoddy state of the police is testament to the fact that they don’t want anyone else protecting you either.

I’m not going to project that there’s some undue malice here. I think it’s far safer to believe that Minister of Police Bheki Cele truly does think that this policy will work. I also think he doesn’t have a firm grip on reality, at all. I truly do not think the South African government understands the dire state this country is in, as they live in their corruption-funded mansions, guarded by bodyguards armed with the very firearms they’ve banned for the 'peasantry'.

But regardless of whether it is intentional, this bill may be one of the largest threats to the freedom of South Africans. For to be free, a government must have a healthy fear of its citizens. And no mass disarmament of citizens has ever resulted in sunshine and roses.

With firearm ownership decimated, criminals (who don’t care about the law) will be able to rape and pillage with impunity. And as disastrous and inhuman policies such as Expropriation Without Compensation are implemented, we will be left defenceless.

Firearms are not only our first and last line of defence against criminals They are a symbol of our true power to stand up against tyranny. They are a reminder that the citizenry is not helpless, and the government must behave.

But that’s so long as we have them, and why it’s so important to oppose this bill.

Make sure to submit your response to the bill using the DearSA platform. Together, we can kill this bill.

Nicholas Woode-Smith is the Managing Editor and a Co-Founder of the Rational Standard.