POLL | Should SA have stricter gun regulations?

South Africa has been troubled by tragic and heartless public shootings in recent months.

Gun laws stipulate that anyone in South Africa who wants to own a gun has to apply for a licence with SAPS. According to SAPS, gun owners need a licence for every firearm they possess.

Potential firearm owners must undergo training on guns.

“You must successfully pass the prescribed test to prove your knowledge of the Firearms Control Act of 2000, as well as the prescribed training and practical test regarding the safe and efficient handling of a firearm at an accredited training provider.

“On receipt of the training certificate from an accredited training provider or the Safety and Security Sector Education and Training Authority (Sasseta), you must apply to the SAPS for a competence certificate,” the SAPS statement read.

SAPS also has laws for gun dealership stores, one of which stipulates that dealership business premises should be secured.

Gun laws come into the spotlight as different parts of the country are exposed to fatal public shootings.

On Friday night, multi-award winning musician Kiernan “AKA” Forbes, died tragically when a group of gunmen shot him and his friend Tebello Motsoane outside a restaurant in Durban.

Last year, the bullet-riddled body of amapiano musician and businessman Oupa “DJ Sumbody" Sefoka was found when he and his bodyguard were killed at the corner of Woodmead and Woodland drives in Sandton.

Blood continues to spill in gun violence crimes affecting not only celebrities but ordinary people too.

TimesLIVE reported that an Eldorado Park activist, Ayob Mungalee, was allegedly gunned down near his home on Sunday.

On the same Sunday, four people were fatally shot in a house in Kwazakhele in Gqeberha.

In January, 18 people were killed in three separate attacks, two of which were mass shootings.