Gun Control Australia spokesman Roland Browne wants to penalise law-abiding firearms owners claiming in a story in The Mercury that guns stolen in Tasmania were used in drive-by shootings.
Despite research showing that many guns used in crime were illegally imported, Mr Browne has pointed the finger at law abiding firearms owners with claims that inadequate storage is to blame.
This follows the theft of five firearms and ammunition stolen from a Gawler property on Saturday, which adds to the fear that firearms registries have become compromised and are providing a shopping list for thieves.
In The Mercury report, Mr Browne said guns stolen from homes in Tasmania were being sold on the lucrative black market and used in drive-by shootings in Melbourne and Sydney.
He called for tougher gun storage regulations to halt the rising number of thefts across the state.
“If we do nothing, gun theft will continue to be inevitable and Tasmania will be feeding the black market of guns in Sydney and Melbourne, and the whole gang culture [and] the number of drive-by shootings carried out with illegal guns,” Mr Browne said.
He said there had been reports that handguns sold on the black market fetched $20,000.
Mr Browne said the fact police described many of the stolen guns as being stored correctly pointed to the inadequacy of the regulations.
“There have been numerous instances where the thieves have just trolleyed out the gun safe or, in other instances, they’ve broken into gun safes,” he said.
The report went on to say that Mr Browne wants gun safes fitted with alarms that automatically alert authorities if tampered with.
A police spokesman said the five guns stolen from a property in Gawler at the weekend had been in a locked safe.
The theft follows an incident last month where six guns were stolen from a house at Bothwell.
More than 100 guns have been stolen this financial year including 14 from a Glenorchy home, two stolen from a locked case in a car at West Moonah and six firearms from a Margate home.
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