Bligh considers firearm law revamp after Gold Coast shootings.
SSAA E -alert, recieved this afternoon.
"Shootings prompt criticism of firearm laws
Firearm laws in Queensland are in question following three shootings on the Gold Coast in recent days.
The Queensland Government is the target of criticism amid claims current firearm laws are not strict enough. Premier Anna Bligh has said she will consider changing firearm laws following a full investigation into the shootings.
SSAA National is encouraging members to vote on the poll located to the right of the news story and answer the question “Should we have stricter gun controls in Australia?”
Members can also choose to have their say on the issue online, or by writing a letter to the editor.
According to Australian Institute of Criminology researchers Jack Dearden and Warwick Jones “more than 93 per cent of firearms used in homicides in 2006-07 were unlicensed and unregistered”.
Of the estimated 760,000 licensed firearms owners in Australia, about 700 report firearm robberies each year. This is a miniscule percentage (0.09%) of firearms that potentially enter the illegal market in this manner.
It is the criminals and their use of illegal firearms that are the problem, not licensed, law-abiding firearm owners."
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Anyone following the thread on these boards, "Who Needs a Gun in Australia" will know how bad things are Down Under regarding the illegal use of firearms by criminals ever increasing since the Gun Ban. Every so often a politician will ruffel their feathers and cry for a tightening of already the tightest gun laws in the western world.
Heres an example. So far the poll included shows an 80% swing against the governments suggestion re the revamp of firearms laws. In the Have your say colums people are also voicing their opinions, that the government should consentrate on the criminals and leave law abiding sporting shooters alone. An interesting read. Vote in the poll as well.
Poll included in article:
Should we have stricter gun control in Australia?
Results so far,
YES . . . 13%
NO . . . 87%
The people are finally waking up. . . . Haz.
http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2010/12/07/275261_gold-coast-news.html
Bligh considers firearm law revamp
Sue Lappeman | December 7th, 2010
Related Links
Pictures: Bundall Road shooting
THE shootings on the Gold Coast could spark another round of bitter public debate over gun control with Premier Anna Bligh vowing to tighten firearm laws if necessary.
Ms Bligh yesterday said she had been shocked by the shootings because they were so unusual.
She said police were throwing everything at the investigation and if they found laws needed to be changed, they would be.
"Here in Queensland we have some of the toughest gun laws in Australia but if in this investigation we find anything that suggests we should be revisiting them then we won't hesitate," she said.
"This sort of lawlessness has no place in a civilised society.
Have your say on the feedback form below
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"These events at the Gold Coast are frankly just shocking. There is no place for them in Australia and they are shocking precisely because they are extreme and unusual."
The Opposition seized on the shootings to launch an attack on the Bligh Government over police numbers, claiming Gold Coasters were right to be concerned about going out at night and the tourism industry would suffer.
LNP police spokesman and Noosa MP Glen Elmes said there had been increasingly violent incidents on the Gold Coast's tourist strip.
"The shootings over the past few days are very disturbing, and come on top of the string of violent crime fuelled by alcohol and drugs that occurs in party precincts," he said.
"The Gold Coast community is rightly extremely concerned about leaving their homes at night at the moment and the shootings could have a detrimental effect on the tourism industry which is already struggling."
Your Say
"Legal firearm ownership should be a completely separate argument to the illegal acquisition and use of firearms. Tougher penalties for illegal activity makes perfect sense. Making legal ownership more restrictive does not, given that we already have comprehensive licencing and registration laws. Many innocent people have been harmed as a result of illegal vehicle use, yet there is no outcry to ban the use of vehicles by licenced drivers. So why link legal gun ownership to illegal gun crime?"
Craig
But Police Minister Neil Roberts said crime rates across a range of categories had decreased over the past 12 months and police numbers had increased.
"Obviously these three incidents are of grave concern and police are throwing tremendous resources into resolving these as quickly as possible," he said.
"In terms of the Gold Coast generally, the recent statistical review showed there was reductions in crime rates across a range of categories, from break and enters to assaults.
"Police are obviously very concerned about these incidents and we are really calling for people with any information, no matter how small, to provide that information to police either directly or through Crimestoppers on 1300 333 000."
