Lock and load for tougher firearms laws

THE almost daily accounts of gunplay around NSW indicate that the current firearms laws aren’t working. Those who should be most alarmed — after the victims — are legitimate gun owners, farmers and sports shooters.

The state firearms laws introduced under a national umbrella 17 years ago in the wake of the Port Arthur massacre are being eroded and there will be an inevitable rise in the numbers of stolen weapons on the black market with lethal consequences. The shock of Port Arthur, where 35 people were murdered and a further 18 had their lives forever diminished, was sufficient for the majority of Australians to understand that they didn’t wish the nation to slide into an acceptance of the gun culture which bedevils the US. Guns have never played a major role in our society apart from their necessary use in vermin control and those who claim otherwise don’t know their history. Australia needs fewer illegal guns in the hands of criminals. The laws for illegal gun possession and use need to be toughened and there should not be a maximum penalty but a mandatory minimum penalty for those who have illegal weapons and tougher minimums for those who use them. The courts treat gun crimes too leniently. There can be no excuse for having an illegal weapon or using one. Since 2011, NSW has recorded an average 20 drive-by shootings a month but the recent reports of gunplay and murder would indicate that the trend is increasing. The insane Port Arthur gunman Martin Bryant used semi-automatic rifles to commit his crimes. Civilians don’t need such weapons. Prime Minister John Howard had the support of Opposition Leader Kim Beazley, and the states, to implement the Nationwide Agreement on Firearms, which incorporated a 10-point plan covering a national registration and bans on semi-automatic long arms. The national buyback scheme removed weapons from the streets but didn’t prevent legitimate gun ownership. The number of multiple murders in which guns were used dropped, as did the number of suicides. If the states and federal government now relax their laws, and there is a suggestion that some states are doing deals with various shooters’ parties, then these numbers will inexorably increase.