CHASA has been made aware that the owners and/or management of Canal Walk Shopping Centre in Cape Town have taken steps to ban the carrying of firearms into Canal Walk Shopping Centre.

The management and/or owners of Canal Walk Shopping Centre are well within their legal rights to determine whether they will or will not permit persons to enter their premises with a firearm. This would fall under the rights of the lawful occupier of any premises to determine who and on what conditions persons enter their premises. This is why many premises have right of entry reserved signs.

No owner or lawful occupier of any premises has the right to search any person if that person does not consent to such search. This extends to that person’s personal possessions. If you are therefore subject to a demand that you be searched prior to entering any premises, you have the right to decline to be searched or the owner of the premises can prevent you from entering the premises.

No security officer has any right to search you or your possessions without your consent and does not have any lawful right to take possession of a firearm and store it. CHASA respects the democratic right of any organisation or individual to have their own views on firearm ownership. However CHASA, as an organisation that represents legal firearm owners and hunters cannot allow the decision of Canal Walk to go unchallenged.

CHASA cannot see any benefit in preventing legal firearm owners from carrying licenced firearms in a lawful manner in a shopping centre.

There is ample evidence to support the argument that the presence of legal firearms is a deterrent against criminals and that gun free areas present better opportunities for criminals because there is less risk to criminals in being stopped from conducting criminal activities.

CHASA therefore calls upon all of its member organisations and individual members, their family, friends and all legal firearms owners not to shop at Canal Walk and to boycott

not only Canal Walk but all other shopping centres owned by Hyprop and/or Ellerine Brothers (Pty) Ltd

Issued by CHASA Spokesperson Martin Hood on behalf of CHASA.

Contact 082 553 9252

Kind Regards

Martin Hood