The Shooters Party: tough on guns?
In the Sydney Morning Herald today Shooters Party MP Mr Roy Smith today said his party supports "the toughest gun laws that can be devised". This stands in sharp contrast with the legislative changes he and his colleague Mr Robert Brown have recently won in NSW parliament, with the support of the NSW Government and Opposition.
Roy Smith's Firearms Amendment Bill 2008 significantly watered down NSW gun laws, weakening penalties for breaching them.
Gun owners no longer need to undergo a criminal record check if they purchase a second firearm of the same kind. And young people over 12 years old can now shoot with a high-powered military style semi-automatic firearm at gun clubs without obtaining a permit.
The Shooters Party, again with the support of the major parties, has also eroded protections in the NSW Domestic Violence Act. Perpetrators of domestic violence who are subject to an apprehended violence order now have an additional opportunity to try regain their firearm license.
Roy Smith argues in the Herald he will support tough gun laws "provided they target the criminal misuse of firearms".
But research by Dr Philip Alpers from Sydney University shows the majority of massacres were committed by licensed gun owners. That's why we need strong gun control.
In pushing through these regressive changes to NSW laws, the Labor, Liberal and Shooters' parties have provided NSW with the dubious distinction of being the first state to water down national uniform gun laws adopted after the Port Arthur massacre.
