PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS IN GUN LICENSING

Sir,

I fully agree with the article titled ‘Calls for psychological tests in gun licensing’ that was published on October 5, 2021. There is an increase in incidents of gun violence in the country as we have seen and heard about gun incidents where people have lost their lives or end up with disabilities due to owners who misuse their licensed weapons.

These gun owners think just because they have been granted permission to use their guns they can use them anyhow. The sad part is that these owners are granted bail even if a life has been lost. There was a reported incident of a pastor who allegedly shot his wife and she was badly injured but the pastor was granted bail. Such can make gun owners think that they can use their weapons anyhow because they know they will be given bail as punishment.

Strict

I feel the Licensing Board should be strict and lower the number of people being given gun licences and create regulations which will state that if anyone misuses his or her weapon, that person will not be granted bail. I also feel that the Board should conduct psychological tests on people requesting gun licences. There is almost always a debate on gun ownership as some people say that individuals use guns to defend and protect themselves.

Yes I do agree with that because some gun owners are businesspeople who can be attacked anytime but with all the crime and what is currently happening in our country, most people are now in defence mode, causing those who own guns to shooting unnecessarily. We are now hearing of a judge who is alleged to be shooting people for no reason.

I feel those who have firearms, if they feel they are not in their right state of their mind, they must take their guns to the Licensing Board which will return them to their owners once they have been psychologically tested to establish that they can continue owning guns. Such a move would help in decreasing the number of gun incidents in the country.

Misuse

As I conclude, the misuse of firearms in the kingdom is a rising problem which needs urgent interventions. Individuals who are known to have problems and or are prone to violence should not be given licences to own firearms.

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Sir,

The increasing incidents of gun violence in the Kingdom of Eswatini are confirmation that the people who are given licences to own firearms should be psychological fit or undergo psychological testing. Over the years the country has lost a lot of its citizens due to people who are granted licences for firearms. These people tend to use the guns in whatever way they like, so it is necessary for government to run psychological tests on them before giving them license to own firearms. With all that is happening in the country, most people are in defence mode. This has led to some families losing breadwinners and some leaving orphans behind.

Convictions

All the criminal convictions must be declared on their firearm application forms to ensure that a gun is given to the right person. This is where serious criminal offenses disqualify the applicant from possessing firearms. Some may argue that even if the person has a criminal record that person might have changed by that time  but I strongly believe people with criminal records relate to misuse of any weapons and must not be in possession of firearms.

Moreover, government should conduct a search where police will go door to door searching for illegal weapons. In the current unrest faced by the country a lot of people are in possession of unauthorised weapons and they tend to use them anyhow. Going door to door will ensure that no one is in possession of an illegal weapon and therefore they will be taken from them. The misuse of firearms needs urgent interventions to save people.

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