Gun control is of course a vitally important issue in not only Namibia, but other southern African societies, especially those that have emerged from struggle and war, and where there is a proliferation of small arms.

It would be difficult to quantify the number of lives that have been lost; the number of people maimed and injured by firearms in past decades in the sub-continent alone.

Some figures have been cited, but they are in all likelihood only the tip of the iceberg.

In most countries, there are pro- and anti-gun lobbies, and of course, there are sometimes what appear to be convincing arguments even from pro-gun adherents, especially when it comes to matters of self-defence.

Whatever all the arguments, there is little doubt that it is important to live in a society which practises gun control.

The United States if of course one of the countries where the arguments for and against gun ownership are at their most vehement, and the recent shootings at Virginia Tech gave further impetus to the anti-gun lobby, but not to the extent that much has changed.

Only this week, in what is ironically seen as a victory, the US House of Representatives US tightened the law to restrict the access of mentally ill citizens to guns, even getting the support of the powerful pro-gun National Rifle Association (NRA) lobby in the process.

US law bans people from buying guns if they've been convicted of domestic violence or a crime punishable by more than a year in prison, they're illegal drug users, illegal immigrants or they've been judged "mentally defective".

Cho Heung-Hul, perpetrator of the Virginia Tech killings, should not have been allowed to purchase the weapons he did, but flaws in the Federal background check system allowed him to slip through the cracks.

The point is really, even where there is gun control of varying degrees, proper enforcement is essential in order to ensure that gun ownership is restricted.

In Windhoek this week, Nangof's Pauline Dempers said gun crime was real in Namibia and had a negative impact, both socially and economically.

Deaths from firearms are related to violent crime and domestic violence and in all probability, accidents as well.

She was correct when she pointed out that "gun crime and the availability of guns is complex.

We believe there is no single solution but we can assist in reducing gun crime through strategies we employ".

She urged Namibia to speed up review process of the Fire Arms Act of 1996, and called on citizens to "observe this week and refrain from gun crime".

This latter request unfortunately, has the effect of calling on citizens to comply only for this week, but the emphasis should instead be on trying to eliminate gun crimes altogether and not only over focus periods.

There does seem, as Dempers pointed out, some kind of commitment by Government and Namibian society at large to manage, control and reduce gun violence in the country.

At least there is not a very vociferous lobby (yet) insofar as opposing gun control.

The biggest argument for retention of small arms licences would of course be from people who seek to, or claim they are wishing to use guns for self-defence, especially in a society in which there is escalating violent crime.

Society then needs to deal effectively with the causes of crime in order to make citizens feel less vulnerable, and so it should not only be a campaign that seeks to minimise small arms ownership, but deals with the root causes of what propels people to buy them.

We would agree with Nangof that it is necessary that Government take its commitment to gun control further, and submit its views on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) which has important bearing on the campaign.

Nangof pointed out that all African countries should support the initiative, but that thus far only 12 had done so.

Namibia was not one of them.

We need to firm up our commitment to the goal of gun control.

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