At least six thousand people in Western Australia have surrendered their gun licences, and more than 20,000 firearms have been destroyed since the state’s hateful gun laws were passed earlier this year.
Many of those firearms were blown up in another publicity stunt by the Cooke Government in outback location the police claimed was being kept secret for security reasons. The government previous forced an air force base to close down while police demonstrated the effects of a .50-calibre rifle to media.
A media release issued by the WA Government said 38,442 firearms had been handed in over the past six months as part of the “buyback”, with more than 21,000 of them destroyed and the remainder in the queue for the crusher.
The majority of essentially confiscated firearms were rifles (25,339), followed by shotguns (9908) and finally handguns (3195). About half the firearms came from Perth.
A paltry 449 guns were sold interstate, largely due to the difficulty and cost involved in legally shipping firearms from Western Australia to the rest of the country.
The number of firearms licence holders in WA has now dropped to 82,065, down from a reported 88,132 in February — something the WA Government has been spruiking as a good thing, because 6000 innocent people being forced out of a lawful sport and recreational activity for political clout is only problematic if it doesn’t suit the narrative.
WA Premier Roger Cook openly displayed his ignorance of firearms and the shooting sports in the official media release, stating, “By their very design, guns were created to end life” — something that will come as a surprise to target shooters with specialised firearms, none of which are designed for hunting or use against living targets.
There is also considerable concern among arms historians that irreplaceable historic firearms are among those reduced to scrap metal. A number of photos released by the WA government of surrendered firearms include historic or collectible firearms, many of which are more than a century old and/or do not use modern ammunition.
Shooters Union Australia WA representative Steve Harrison said the state government had absolutely nothing to be proud of regarding its “buyback” or the gun laws.
“Nothing about the way these gun laws have been introduced is fair, democratic or evidence-based,” he said.
“Right from the start they’ve simply dictated what their laws will be and ignored the tens of thousands of people opposing it.
“More than 6000 people have been bullied out of a sport they love, because a couple of people in the government and police decided their personal opinions were facts and they can do whatever they like.
“If the Government was celebrating 6000 people being forced to hand in their driver’s licences and 40,000 internal combustion engine vehicles getting crushed, we’d be seeing a national uproar, but once again, gun owners are seen as a soft target.
“It’s absolutely shameful and serious questions need to be asked at the highest levels about pretty much everything involving these new laws, this buyback and the WA government’s treatment of its citizens.”
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