Document Actions
Newcastle shootings should halt a further relaxation of NSW gun laws
Tuesday 29 June 2010
Greens MP and Hunter spokesperson Lee Rhiannon is calling on the NSW government to back her private members bill for a ban on semi-automatic hand guns, following the Mayfield shooting which involved a prohibited .38 calibre handgun.
Ms Rhiannon also warned the government off backing a Shooters Party bill introduced this month, with the leave of the government, which would further relax gun laws in NSW.
"The Mayfield tragedy would have been less likely if the government had moved to ban semi-automatic pistols," Ms Rhiannon said.
"Semi-automatic pistols are easy to conceal and should have been banned in the aftermath of the Port Arthur massacre, when semi-automatic long arms were prohibited.
"The major parties are hungry for law and order announcements, but silent on the issue of gun control.
"NSW was the first state to roll back uniform gun laws introduced after the Port Arthur massacre.
"In early June the Keneally government gave the Shooters Party leave to introduce a bill that if passed will further weaken gun laws in this state.
"The new Shooters Bill contains a number of changes to gun laws. It includes reducing licensing disqualification from 10 to five years following domestic violence orders and removing the 28-day waiting period to obtain additional firearms.
"The government has been locked in an unsavoury tryst with the Shooters Party, allowing existing gun laws to be whittled away.
"Public safety should not be compromised by any deals Labor wishes to make with the Shooters Party to gain an extra two votes' support in the NSW Upper House.
"The NSW government's relationship with the gun lobby is unsavoury and compromises what should be a tough approach to gun ownership in this state," Ms Rhiannon said.
For more information: 0427 861 568
A summary of the Shooters Party Firearms Legislation Amendment Bill 2010 is here
