Illegal gun sellers will buy into clients’ crimes under proposed new State Government law

THOSE who illegally sell guns to killers will be sentenced as accessories to murder and face possible life imprisonment under laws proposed by the State Government today.

THOSE who illegally sell guns to killers will be sentenced as accessories to murder and face possible life imprisonment under laws proposed by the State Government today.

Attorney General John Rau today announced a seismic change in the handling of crimes involving firearms, should his new legislation be adopted by Parliament.

The change would see a removal of the requirement for prosecutors to prove a person illegally selling or supplying a gun is aware their client intends to use it for a crime.

The effect of the change means a person who illegally supplied a gun to a killer would be sentenced as an accessory to their client’s crime — an offence carrying a possible maximum life sentence.

In the same vein, a person who illegally provided a firearm to an armed robber would be sentenced as an accomplice to that offence, as would the supplier of a gun used in a case of rape, or assault, or any other crime.

The proposed laws parallel the controversial felony murder law used in some parts of the US.

Those laws see people involved in crimes that result in the death of a person sentenced for murder regardless of whether they were present when the victim died.

Journalistic icon Hunter S. Thompson was among many high-profile Americans who publicly opposed the felony murder laws.

Thompson, along with celebrities including Johnny Depp and Sean Penn, campaigned for the release of Lisl Auman.

She was convicted of murdering a police officer in 1998, even though she had not pulled the trigger and had been handcuffed in the back of a police car at the time.

The officer was killed by her accomplice in a burglary.

The proposed SA laws have been drafted in the wake of the murder of Lewis McPherson, the sentencing of his killer, Liam Humbles, and the jailing of Charles Alexander Cullen, who supplied the murder weapon.

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In March, Humbles was jailed for life with a 24-year non-parole period for murdering Mr McPherson and attempting to murder his friends.

During his trial, defence counsel said Humbles habitually carried a .22 handgun “for protection”.

The gun was supplied to Humbles by Cullen, who is serving an eight-year jail term for his crime.

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In the wake of the murder, Mr McPherson’s father Mark successfully campaigned for mandatory prison terms for those caught selling or supplying illegal guns.

Today, Mr Rau said the proposed new laws would operate in addition to the changes already implemented.

“I’m very pleased that, through such tragic circumstances, we have responded in a way that sends a clear message to those dealing in firearms,” he said.

“To make it very clear: you are accountable for the harm that the illegal firearm you sell or supply causes in the community.

“Just because you are not the person who is at the scene of a crime doesn’t get you off the hook if you’ve supplied the weapon.”

He said the tough laws were a much better option than bringing about a blanket ban on firearms ownership, as that would penalise law-abiding citizens who handled their firearms properly.

“I’ve never been somebody who’s relaxed about firearms in our community,” he said.

“But the fact is in the whole of the time SA has been a settled place, there have been people with firearms - and there can be, and are, legitimate reasons for that.

“These people are law-abiding citizens and for us to take their property off them would be a very dramatic step indeed.”

While acknowledging the similarities to the felony murder laws — which have been the subject of civil rights debates in the US — Mr Rau said he felt there was no other way to “get the message to idiots” who illegally sold and supplied guns.

He said he felt confident the laws, if ratified, would survive a challenge in the High Court of Australia.

“I realise that this is a big step, but how else do you actually make it clear to people out there that we are deadly serious about sending this message?” he said.

Today Mr McPherson’s father, Mark, dubbed the laws “fantastic” and a “terrific step forward” for community safety.

“We have just come so far since that tragic night, New Year’s Eve 2012 (when the murder occurred), until now,” he said.

“Surely these laws will make people rethink their actions.

“If I knew the consequences were that I could be held responsible for whatever the gun was used for, I would rethink it.”

He said the proposed laws should be considered for national implementation.

“South Australia can rightly and proudly say we have got the best gun laws in the country,” he said.

“I think there is now an opportunity to harmonise the laws nationally; align them somewhat, and have consistency.”

Today, Mr Rau said his proposed laws would act as an addition to that change.

Mr McPherson said he felt “some satisfaction” that his campaigning had been successful.

“I am always doing this for the memory of Lewis,” he said.

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