Chairperson, there should have been a Second Reading debate, and I have been forced to do this three-minute declaration against my and the DA's will. As determined as our parliamentary portfolio committees are to work through apartheid-era legislation, bringing it into line with our democratic Constitution, much still remains to be done, such as the National Key Points Act as constructed during that dark time.
This Dangerous Weapons Bill should have been completed by 8 November 2011, according to the Constitutional Court. However, those who drew up the 2011 version misread the levels of fear South Africans live with 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The state lawyers and Secretary of Police drew up a Bill that limited people's ability to defend themselves - no tasers, no pepper spray; nothing. The public outrage was monumental, with 2 300 complaints sent to Parliament. Chastened, they went back to the drawing board and began again. I have yet to ascertain the cost of this massive miscalculation. Finally, on the 12th of last month we began processing a fresh draft, which was a vast improvement on what had initially been presented. It will go a long way towards dealing with the thorny issues around carrying dangerous weapons during protests, other gatherings or even for self-protection.
As the Bill now stands, a dangerous weapon is created by intent. We took any reference to firearms out; so basically this is any object capable of producing death or serious bodily harm.
The determination of whether or not the item being carried is a dangerous weapon to be used for unlawful purposes covers the time and place where the person is found, the general behaviour of that person, the manner in which the weapon is carried, or whether the possession of the weapon is in the context of drug dealing, gangs or organised crime.
We had a number of representations from sporting bodies, who pointed out that this new Bill would have a massive impact on their games, sport shooting - all sorts of entertainment - and we came to realise that exemptions were in order. We considered them and duly inserted these, taking every single representation into consideration.
What we have shown throughout the processing of this legislation is that public opinion must always be taken into consideration when legislating; that the citizens of South Africa have power over Parliament; and that if a country speaks out against the impact legislation will have on their lives and their freedom, it is our duty to listen and to act on their wishes.
We got here today despite the Department of Police, which treated us with utter contempt as we had to demand the implementation plan over and over. I trust this Bill will not take as many months as other Bills we worked day and night to pass for them to come up with the regulations. The DA will today be voting in support of this Bill. Thank you.