Our hearts go out to the victims of the shootings last week. The senseless loss of life jars us and we look for answers.

One of the answers proposed after each shooting is “gun-free zones,” which stirs the ongoing debate between supporters of our Second Amendment right to bear arms versus those who demand gun control.

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In reality, there is no such thing as a “gun-free” zone since in those scenarios, guns still remain in the hands of the government and criminals. The only ones affected are law-abiding citizens and their ability to protect themselves.

Let’s take a look historically at what has transpired in “gun-free” zones from one who has lived it.

Charl Van Wyk, lived in Cape Town, South Africa when terrorists walked into the church he attended on July 25, 1993 and opened fire with automatic assault rifles, tossing grenades. Sitting in the back of the church, Charl knelt down, pulled out his .38 Special snub-nosed revolver and fired toward the attackers. Recognizing he was too far away, he crawled to the back door and then dashed around to where the terrorists had entered. He got behind them. Once the attackers realized they were being shot at, they turned and ran for their get-away vehicle, obviously surprised that they had encountered opposition.

But what if they hadn’t? What if Wyk had not been armed? Had it been seven years later after gun control laws were beginning to be implemented in South Africa, he most likely wouldn’t have been.

Now twenty-six years later with stricter gun control than ever, South Africa’s crime statistics reveal over 20,000 people were murdered last year alone–the highest murder number the country has ever recorded.

Police minister Bheki Cele said of the statistics, “They bring us close to a war zone with 57 people murdered a day.”[1]

In fact, the number of murders in South Africa over the last ten years is greater than the number of deaths in the Afghanistan War (17 years in length) or the number of people killed in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.[2]

So, if gun control and gun-free zones work, then why has South Africa’s murder rate increased since the gun control laws were implemented?

Of the issue, Wyk continues to speak out to warn others and other countries that, “Gun control precedes genocide.”

History proves his statement true. According to case studies of major twentieth-century genocide, once gun control became law, minority groups were targeted and murdered by the governments that implemented the laws.

Once “gun-free zones” are in place, they are then able to dominate, and control citizens, who have been stripped of their guns and ability to protect themselves.

Perpetrator Government             Targets                               Est. Murdered                Gun Control Law

Ottoman, Turkey                             Christian Armenians         1.5 million                        1866-1911

Soviet Union                                     Christians; Peasants         36 million                         1929

Nazi Germany & occupied             Jews, Anti-Nazi’s,             13 million                         1928-1938

Europe                                               Gypsies, Christians

China                                                  Christians,                           60 million                         1935-1957

Anti-Communists

Pro-Reformers

Uganda                                              Christians                           600,000                              1955-1970

Political Rivals

Cambodia                                          Educated Persons             3 million                              1956

Rwanda                                             Christian Tutsi                   500,000                              1964[3]

What does the Bible have to say about this issue? That different seasons require different responses.

In the day in which Jesus was betrayed, knowing what was in the heart of both governmental and religious leaders who were jealous of Him, He instructed the disciples, “But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one.” (Lk 22:36)

I believe that we live in a similar day and age in America.

Do guns commit violence? No, it is the people behind the guns.

When law-abiding citizens are the only ones who have their guns confiscated, then as history reveals, violence, control, and genocide are sure to follow.

Lord, we pray for the families of the victims not only of the two recent shootings, but those of the past. We pray for those whose loved ones were taken and for those whose lives were changed in an instant. We ask that you would comfort and heal their hearts.

 We also pray for our nation. Lord, you said you would contend with those who contend with us and you would fight against those who fight against us. We ask for your protection over us and over our constitutional right to bear arms and protect ourselves. Lord, let it will not be stolen from us.

 We pray that there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed and that the truth of anything behind support of gun control would be revealed and brought to light. We ask that your people in America and around the world would be protected from those who target us for destruction even as we pray for their salvation and revival in our land.

ABOUT:

Karen Hardin is an intercessor, author, minister and literary agent. She is called to exhort, encourage and help raise up the remnant. She desires to empower those who have grown weary so they can reposition to walk in identity and destiny. Her work has appeared in USA Today, World Net Daily, Intercessors for America, Charisma, CBN.com, The Elijah List, etc. For additional information you can contact her at www.prioritypr.org or www.karenhardin.com

[1] https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2018-09-11-crimestats-ten-years-of-murder-in-south-africa-in-one-terrifying-graphic/, accessed August 4, 2019.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Wyk, Charl; Shooting Back, CA: World Ahead Publishing, 2006, p. 99