Gel blaster enthusiasts protest new licensing law at SA Police HQ while official association files class action against police
Adelaide gel blaster fans have protested outside SA Police HQ against new licensing rules they say completely destroy their game. As businesses close, a class action is mounting.
SA News
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The gel blaster community has been left reeling after a new regulation that came into effect from Thursday that classes the toys as firearms.
As multiple businesses were forced to close their doors to customers, enthusiasts took to the streets to protest the decision.
It comes as the Gel Blaster Association of Australia started an industry class action against SA Police on Wednesday. It hopes to raise $50,000 for legal fees to fight this matter in courts. More than $5000 has been raised in less than 24 hours.
About 50 people gathered near SA Police HQ on Thursday morning to protest the new regulation that classes gel blasters under the Firearms Act – meaning people would need a licence to operate one and register the imitation blasters with unique serial numbers.
Johnathon Cooke, part-owner of the Special Unicorns group at Aldinga, protested the decision, saying hundreds of people no longer had a community to retreat to on weekends.
His business has now closed its doors to the public.
“It means now I have to get a gun licence, and I don’t want a gun licence,” Mr Cooke said.
“As of today we’re closed, we’ve got rent to pay, and all these people we don’t get to see anymore.”
The club has 800 members and co-ordinates events for people every weekend.
Steven Gemmell, a gel blaster store owner at Port Adelaide, has also closed his doors.
“I can’t sell anything anymore so there’s no point, I can’t even do repairs,” Mr Gemmell said.
“The main thing that upsets me about this is all of our people here, we’ve always done the right thing and we’re the ones getting penalised.”
Mr Gemmell said it could take up to eight months to get a gun licence, but the amnesty period to seek a licence is only six months.
“Everyone’s going to have to break the law to get a licence … they're setting us up to fail.”
Stephen
Another member of the Special Unicorns gel blaster group, Stephen Holden, said he could not breathe when he found out about the new rules.
He plays with his 14-year-old son at weekends.
“Our relationship has done nothing but grown, he's now off the Playstation and he's outside from 9-5 every weekend,” Mr Holden said.
He said police should not penalise the majority of gel blaster users, because the minority is doing the wrong thing.
“People still drink drive and do the wrong thing, yet they don’t take away everyone’s licences in cars.
“There are going to be a minority of people who do the wrong thing in everything.”