Interesting read...didn't know it was that cheap. AK's and the Chinese Norinco-made 9mm are favourites ![Fencelook]( "Fencelook")
What can the AK-47 teach us about gun control in South Africa?
Posted on October 9, 2012 by Gerhard V
http://soundmoneysa.co.za/2012/10/what-c...th-africa/
![[Image: AK47.jpg]]()
The AK-47 is one of the most well-known firearms in the world.
It is used by armed forces across this globe including, but not limited to, the forces of Russia, Vietnam, Angola, Cambodia and many others.
This Russian developed assault rifle has had a tremendous social and cultural impact on the world. As but one example, the AK is featured on the flag of Mozambique.
The AK may be described as the archetypical machine gun. It is crude, effective, reliable and loved by military’s and rebel forces alike. In Africa this weapon has had profound influence. Wikipedia argues the AK to be one of the most smuggled weapons in the world.
Civilians in South Africa aren’t allowed to own a functioning automatic AK-47. Civilian ownership of automatic weapons are specifically prohibited under our current firearms control legislation.
One would hope and expect firearm laws to make weapons such as the AK-47′s very expensive and difficult for criminals to get their hands on. Is that not one of the implicit goals of firearm restrictions?
Unfortunately it seems that to get an illicit AK-47 in SA is neither difficult nor expensive. Consider the chart below, an AK-47 priced in Rand at today’s USD/ZAR exchange rate is about R1,579. In the US the price and in Russia the AK-47 will cost you about R 4,385, much more than South Africa. Date from GunPolicy.org.
Ironically, the AK costs less in SA than it does in Russia, the country of its origin. Anyone with knowledge of firearms will tell you that R1,600 is not much for an assault rifle.
![[Image: AK47-Going-Rate.bmp]]()
In researching this post, I asked a person involved in law enforcement how difficult it is to obtain a black market AK-47. In reply I was told that it’s not difficult at all. Apparently one could obtain a black market AK-47 within hours if you knew where to go. (Which I don’t, just to be clear).
I cannot confirm this point, but looking at the many You Tube videos, photos of robberies where the noticeable AK-47 is used, as well as news articles like this one, it does seem plausible for the AK to be easily obtainable.
The cost of legal ownership vs. the cost of illegal ownership
Now let’s consider the costs of legal first firearm ownership in South Africa compared to the cost of an illegal AK-47. South African firearms control legislation sets various legal hurdles to firearm ownership. These hurdles have real costs for the firearm owner.
Examples of these hurdles are the completion of a competency course, installation of a firearms safe, police competency application, and licensing costs among others. I have broken down typical estimated costs associated with firearm ownership in the chart below:
![[Image: Typical-Costs-of-Legal-Firearm-Ownership.bmp]]()
South African civilians aren’t allowed to own fully automatic weapons like the AK-47. But under certain conditions one may buy a semi-automatic firearm that resembles an assault rifle.
One example of a semi-automatic rifle available to South Africans is the Dashprod SAR M14, which retails new for about R12,580 at one local supplier.
It is my understanding that such weapons may not be licensed for self-defence and are mostly purchased and licensed by civilians for sport shooting. Most people buying weapons for self-defence will buy a pistol, revolver or a shotgun.
According to my calculations, to legally own a first 9mm pistol, like the Glock 19, will cost you in the region of R 9,600 if you have to start with the competencies, gun safe, legally mandated equipment and the weapon.
A weapon like the semi-automatic Dashprod SAR M14 will cost you about R16,190 if this is a first firearm and you include all the costs mentioned above.
Now contrast that to the cost of an illegal AK-47 at R1,597. I am assuming that users of illicit firearms don’t typically concern themselves with things like rifle safes and competency certificates. The comparison in costs seems rather sizeable.
![[Image: Legal-vs.-Illegal-costs.bmp]]()
It is clear that the Rand cost of legal gun ownership is typically higher than the Rand cost of illegal ownership. I think it’s reasonable to assume firearm control laws are raising the costs of ownership for the legal gun owner.
But what economic effect will this have on the market for firearms?
One of my mainstream economics textbooks, written by a guy called Bradley Schiller, provides an example I am sure applies in this case.
New York City and the market for smuggled cigarettes
Schiller tells of the market for cigarettes in New York. When the NYC local government raised taxes on cigarettes in NYC – to curtail the effects of smoking – the market for smuggled cigarettes increased in size and activity. Meaning more smuggled cigarettes entered the market. Now why exactly won’t the same thing happen in the market for firearms?
Economics 101 tells us that if a price is low more people will tend to buy a product. If a price is higher, fewer people will tend to buy a product. If firearm control laws raises the price of legal gun ownership, fewer people in the market for a legal firearm will tend to buy one. This obviously results in less firearms in legal hands.
If illegal firearms are comparatively cheaper, isn’t it logical to expect the market for illegal weapons to also increase in size and activity; just like the market for smuggled cigarettes in NYC? Won’t there be more firearms in illegal hands because of overly strict gun control?
Also keep in mind that many legal gun enthusiasts would love to license and buy an AK-47 for their collection. By doing so they would probably bid up the prices of an AK-47 by increasing demand. This might even bid some of the weapons away from the on-the-fence (marginal) criminal.
In conclusion; we have to investigate whether having less legal gun owners and a more active market for smuggled illegal weapons is an acceptable outcome we seek from our firearm control laws. Is this shaping the type of society we want to live in?
According to GunPolicy.org South Africa has about 1.8 million licensed firearm owners, estimates of illegal firearms ranges from 500 thousand to 4 million. Personally, I am sure a higher number is more realistic.
But even if we have only 500 thousand illegal firearms, should we expect that number increase or decrease because of our firearm control laws? Personally, I expect illegal ownership to increase and legal ownership to decrease because of gun control and higher legal ownership costs.
That is why I don’t think firearm laws are productive and working as was intended. This is a rather lengthy way of saying: “when guns are outlawed, only the outlaws will have guns.”
What do you think about SA’s gun control laws? Are they productive? Please leave a comment below.
_______________________________________
Note: costs are only estimates and presented for educational and illustrative purposes. This post is not intended to be advice or recommendations on any particular firearm. Please consult a legal expert or professional about licensing and legal firearm ownership in South Africa.
What can the AK-47 teach us about gun control in South Africa?
Posted on October 9, 2012 by Gerhard V
http://soundmoneysa.co.za/2012/10/what-c...th-africa/
![[Image: AK47.jpg]](http://soundmoneysa.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/AK47.jpg)
The AK-47 is one of the most well-known firearms in the world.
It is used by armed forces across this globe including, but not limited to, the forces of Russia, Vietnam, Angola, Cambodia and many others.
This Russian developed assault rifle has had a tremendous social and cultural impact on the world. As but one example, the AK is featured on the flag of Mozambique.
The AK may be described as the archetypical machine gun. It is crude, effective, reliable and loved by military’s and rebel forces alike. In Africa this weapon has had profound influence. Wikipedia argues the AK to be one of the most smuggled weapons in the world.
Civilians in South Africa aren’t allowed to own a functioning automatic AK-47. Civilian ownership of automatic weapons are specifically prohibited under our current firearms control legislation.
One would hope and expect firearm laws to make weapons such as the AK-47′s very expensive and difficult for criminals to get their hands on. Is that not one of the implicit goals of firearm restrictions?
Unfortunately it seems that to get an illicit AK-47 in SA is neither difficult nor expensive. Consider the chart below, an AK-47 priced in Rand at today’s USD/ZAR exchange rate is about R1,579. In the US the price and in Russia the AK-47 will cost you about R 4,385, much more than South Africa. Date from GunPolicy.org.
Ironically, the AK costs less in SA than it does in Russia, the country of its origin. Anyone with knowledge of firearms will tell you that R1,600 is not much for an assault rifle.
![[Image: AK47-Going-Rate.bmp]](http://soundmoneysa.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/AK47-Going-Rate.bmp)
In researching this post, I asked a person involved in law enforcement how difficult it is to obtain a black market AK-47. In reply I was told that it’s not difficult at all. Apparently one could obtain a black market AK-47 within hours if you knew where to go. (Which I don’t, just to be clear).
I cannot confirm this point, but looking at the many You Tube videos, photos of robberies where the noticeable AK-47 is used, as well as news articles like this one, it does seem plausible for the AK to be easily obtainable.
The cost of legal ownership vs. the cost of illegal ownership
Now let’s consider the costs of legal first firearm ownership in South Africa compared to the cost of an illegal AK-47. South African firearms control legislation sets various legal hurdles to firearm ownership. These hurdles have real costs for the firearm owner.
Examples of these hurdles are the completion of a competency course, installation of a firearms safe, police competency application, and licensing costs among others. I have broken down typical estimated costs associated with firearm ownership in the chart below:
![[Image: Typical-Costs-of-Legal-Firearm-Ownership.bmp]](http://soundmoneysa.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Typical-Costs-of-Legal-Firearm-Ownership.bmp)
South African civilians aren’t allowed to own fully automatic weapons like the AK-47. But under certain conditions one may buy a semi-automatic firearm that resembles an assault rifle.
One example of a semi-automatic rifle available to South Africans is the Dashprod SAR M14, which retails new for about R12,580 at one local supplier.
It is my understanding that such weapons may not be licensed for self-defence and are mostly purchased and licensed by civilians for sport shooting. Most people buying weapons for self-defence will buy a pistol, revolver or a shotgun.
According to my calculations, to legally own a first 9mm pistol, like the Glock 19, will cost you in the region of R 9,600 if you have to start with the competencies, gun safe, legally mandated equipment and the weapon.
A weapon like the semi-automatic Dashprod SAR M14 will cost you about R16,190 if this is a first firearm and you include all the costs mentioned above.
Now contrast that to the cost of an illegal AK-47 at R1,597. I am assuming that users of illicit firearms don’t typically concern themselves with things like rifle safes and competency certificates. The comparison in costs seems rather sizeable.
![[Image: Legal-vs.-Illegal-costs.bmp]](http://soundmoneysa.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Legal-vs.-Illegal-costs.bmp)
It is clear that the Rand cost of legal gun ownership is typically higher than the Rand cost of illegal ownership. I think it’s reasonable to assume firearm control laws are raising the costs of ownership for the legal gun owner.
But what economic effect will this have on the market for firearms?
One of my mainstream economics textbooks, written by a guy called Bradley Schiller, provides an example I am sure applies in this case.
New York City and the market for smuggled cigarettes
Schiller tells of the market for cigarettes in New York. When the NYC local government raised taxes on cigarettes in NYC – to curtail the effects of smoking – the market for smuggled cigarettes increased in size and activity. Meaning more smuggled cigarettes entered the market. Now why exactly won’t the same thing happen in the market for firearms?
Economics 101 tells us that if a price is low more people will tend to buy a product. If a price is higher, fewer people will tend to buy a product. If firearm control laws raises the price of legal gun ownership, fewer people in the market for a legal firearm will tend to buy one. This obviously results in less firearms in legal hands.
If illegal firearms are comparatively cheaper, isn’t it logical to expect the market for illegal weapons to also increase in size and activity; just like the market for smuggled cigarettes in NYC? Won’t there be more firearms in illegal hands because of overly strict gun control?
Also keep in mind that many legal gun enthusiasts would love to license and buy an AK-47 for their collection. By doing so they would probably bid up the prices of an AK-47 by increasing demand. This might even bid some of the weapons away from the on-the-fence (marginal) criminal.
In conclusion; we have to investigate whether having less legal gun owners and a more active market for smuggled illegal weapons is an acceptable outcome we seek from our firearm control laws. Is this shaping the type of society we want to live in?
According to GunPolicy.org South Africa has about 1.8 million licensed firearm owners, estimates of illegal firearms ranges from 500 thousand to 4 million. Personally, I am sure a higher number is more realistic.
But even if we have only 500 thousand illegal firearms, should we expect that number increase or decrease because of our firearm control laws? Personally, I expect illegal ownership to increase and legal ownership to decrease because of gun control and higher legal ownership costs.
That is why I don’t think firearm laws are productive and working as was intended. This is a rather lengthy way of saying: “when guns are outlawed, only the outlaws will have guns.”
What do you think about SA’s gun control laws? Are they productive? Please leave a comment below.
_______________________________________
Note: costs are only estimates and presented for educational and illustrative purposes. This post is not intended to be advice or recommendations on any particular firearm. Please consult a legal expert or professional about licensing and legal firearm ownership in South Africa.