Police figures reveal a staggering number of guns are owned by residents on the northern beaches
A STAGGERING 2539 residents of the northern beaches own a staggering 10,631 guns, that’s one in 25 people with a gun at home, police figures show.
Manly
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A RESIDENT of Terrey Hills or Duffys Forest owns 211 guns — and he or she is not a licensed gun collector.
The staggering statistic comes from police figures of registered gun ownership across the state.
The 2084 postcode is in 7th place in NSW for a single person owning so many guns, well behind the Mosman resident who has a private arsenal of 285 guns.
A resident of Belrose or Davidson owns 181 guns, one at Narrabeen owns 147 and one at Collaroy owns 144.
Altogether 2539 residents of the northern beaches own a staggering 10,631 guns — equal to one gun for every 25 people on the peninsula, including children.
Gun collectors are excluded from the statistics because all their guns are inoperable.
The figures were compiled according to postcode by The Greens using information supplied by NSW Police.
Greens MP David Shoebridge said the northern beaches featured high on the list of NSW postcodes because of the wealth of many people living here.
“It’s clear that some people have a fetish for guns and it creates a valid concern for the community,” he said.
“If one collection is stolen, that’s hundreds of weapons in one hit that could be used to commit criminal acts or sold to finance criminal activities.”
Mr Shoebridge said there are now more than 900,000 registered guns in NSW and the number could pass 1 million within two years.
“These gun owners are not collectors or arms dealers but private individuals who have been allowed to amass private arsenals,” he said.
“This is because a loophole in NSW’s gun laws allows private individuals to use the same reason to buy their 1st, 10th or 310th gun.
“The city is very different to the country. If someone has a rural property they may require five different guns for different purposes, all of which are valid.
“But how do you allow someone in the city to have hundreds of guns? Its proof-positive our guns laws are not being enforced.
“There is no good reason for a private individual to own hundreds of guns.”
“The Liberal National and the Labor Party must stand up to the gun lobby and stop ignoring the community who overwhelmingly support serious gun control,” he said.
The number of guns handed in during the National Firearm Amnesty that ran from July 1 to September 30 is yet to be released but as of September 6, more than 130 had been handed to local police on the peninsula.