Akosombo Continental Hotel is actually at Atimpoku, which is famous for the elegant Adomi Bridge. The bridge used to be a favourite excursion destination for generations of school children “on wheels” to places of interest. The hotel is a fine place for rest and work with the Volta River lapping at your feet, if you have a good reason to make use of the “Lovers’ Lane”. I was there to work but the setting also made for good after dinner conversation. Last Monday evening, somehow the subject of armed robbery dominated a conversation I had with some friends in this splendid setting. It was sad because we ought to have talked more edifying things. But what emerged was how much our lives are blighted by fear that at the end of a long day of work, a hooded hoodlum will turn up at your door in the night wielding a Kalashnikov rifle. The news on newspaper front pages and radio bulletins has been bad lately; the number of murders is driving Ghana into a new category on the league of violent places. Someone remarked to me that there appears to be a new and undefined sense of frustration, anger and impatience in the air as people act with brazen bullishness where once they would have been more discreet even in showing irritation and fury. It appears that the greatest impact on the murder rate can be attributed to the almost effortless acquisition of guns by those who want them for criminal purposes. There are too many illegal guns in the hands of the wrong sort of people in this country today and that accounts for the high rate of murder, and not that people have become more inclined to violence. This country has strict gun control laws but they are observed more in the breach, as are almost all other laws in the country. Two weeks ago, someone offered to take me to a part of Accra where I could buy a gun on the spot. I did not take up the offer but he assured me that buying guns is as easy as buying sachet water in the streets of Accra. This is the critical factor in the spate of murders that have been recorded in this country in recent years. The time has come to take another look at our gun control strategies. Most gun control regulations seek to restrict the access of guns to certain types of people through a licensing regime. Generally, this makes sense because the licensing process is designed to eliminate people who are likely to abuse gun ownership. However, in a situation in which laws are not effectively enforced a licensing regime is not the best means of controlling gun use or eliminating illegal gun use. In the circumstances in which we find ourselves, we have to ask the question whether anyone outside of the security forces must be allowed to carry a gun at all. Gun control is a controversial issue all over the world. Opponents of gun control argue that it takes away the rights of good people to protect themselves while criminals will always find a way to own or use guns. There are those who hunt for food or pleasure who also argue against strict gun control. In situations where some people make a living from making guns it would also mean depriving those people, no matter that it is a small number, from their main source of livelihood. Despite these, I am arguing that the only way to control the use of guns and therefore the crime rate is to ban ALL guns. We have to take a balanced view of these matters and weigh the rights of the small majority of people who have gun licenses against the bigger public interest. The point is this: it will be easier to control gun abuse if it is illegal for anyone to make or own a gun. I know many responsible people who own guns and are never likely to fire in anger but the price we must all pay in situations such as this is to make sacrifices. Perhaps a total gun ban can be for a number of years and the license restored once the situation is brought under control. But a simple ban will not do the trick if it is left at that. There have to be other measures to ensure that gun ownership and use are well and truly criminalised. I am not a criminologist and I am aware that there is a body of evidence, especially in the US that shows that gun bans or even gun control does not substantially affect the crime rate. I don’t know if any studies have been done in Ghana but my point is that from a commonsense point of view, if we take out guns, although violent crime may not be reduced, fatalities will be lessened. A sling does not have the same effect as an AK47! Even without having a complete ban in place the government must do two complimentary things. First there has to be a massive campaign against gun use in the media. This may sound fanciful but it is possible that many of the young men who are using guns to wreak havoc are unaware that possessing a gun is illegal in itself. I am often amazed at the apparent lack of awareness about the power of the media in using communications to affect change. The recent “the value is the same” campaign has to convince the government that we can reach everyone in the country with messages designed to change behaviours, attitudes and perceptions for the better. A massive campaign against gun use should have been mounted when it became evident that this was becoming the source of major menace to the security of the country and citizens. This campaign should be accompanied by an amnesty. This would mean that for a period of time people would be asked to turn in their guns without having to answer a single question about where how they got it. They would not even need to give their name or address. It must be made clear that the amnesty would be followed by draconian measures including house raids and stop and search regimes. I know that many of these would be unpopular because they would lead to inconveniences in our lives already blighted by inconveniences. There will be human rights as well as practicality implications but we have to balance all those against the knowledge that the first human right is the right to life, which is being severely undermined by the absence of effective gun control enforcement. There must be many different strategies to bring the spate of gun killings to an end but the surest one is to take out the weapon out of the hands of the criminals. This means total ban on the manufacture, sale and private possession of guns and assault weapons —in effect to restrict their possession to law enforcement officers. Therefore the unpalatable conclusion must be that gun control has failed and has to be replaced by a complete gun ban at least for a period of time preceded by a campaign against gun use and ownership and an amnesty for the handing in of illegal guns. Let us try this, or perhaps the cry ought to be let is try anything. Doing nothing is not an option. The Diary, an up coming regular feature, is authored by Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng (gapenteng@hotmail.com)