The WA Gun Rally in central Perth has been hailed as a great success by its organisers, with more than 1500 people attending the event on Saturday, 8 February.
Shooters Union Western Australia, along with Politics Reloaded and individual WA shooters, organised the event in the Supreme Court Gardens as part of an effort to reach the huge numbers of disenfranchised responsible firearms users in the state, many of whom are set to lose some or even all of their guns under the draconian laws rammed through Parliament by the ALP last year.
Despite concerns from online commentators that the event would be disrupted by extremists or bad-faith actors, the rally went off without a hitch, being widely praise from those who attended and sparking considerable discussion in shooting groups across the country afterwards.
Shooters Union Western Australia state advocate Steve Harrison was first to take the stage, speaking about the background to the rally, its organisation by members of the WA shooting community, the issues facing shooters in WA, and how to tackle those issues – particularly after the state election on 8 March.
Upper house MP Louise Kingston spoke on how it was important to take a stand against attacks on shooters, saying that passively avoiding the challenge and hoping the attacks would stop simply wasn’t going to work.
She said her own efforts in the WA parliament to amend the laws were completely ignored by the government despite so many people calling for proper consultation and discussion of those laws, and she committed to working together with the shooting community to fight against the Firearms Act 2024 if re-elected.
Libertarians WA lead upper house candidate Ryan Burns spoke about the meaning of being a Libertarian, and the Libertarians’ longstanding support for law-abiding, responsible firearms users – including hunting and target shooting, explaining this stance was a core value of the party.
He said the new gun laws were not only about guns, but also a property rights issue, and said shooters were rightfully unhappy about being ignored during consultation on the laws.
He pledged to fight to block and repeal the Firearms Act 2024 if elected.
Law professor and former WA Law Reform Commissioner Dr Augusto Zimmermann delivered a passionate speech on the Law Reform Commission Project 105 report on the state’s firearms laws, a report he co-authored.
He received an enthusiastic and supportive response from the crowd as he spoke about how the report was ignored, and he reiterated that absolutely nothing in the report recommended the type of laws which had been passed by the ALP Government.
He emphatically rejected claims that any of the laws were based on the Report’s recommendations.
SU WA director David Brown closed out the event by speaking on the importance of shooters getting politically active, and giving the gathered crowd some homework: Talk to as many people as possible about the situation facing shooters in WA, talk about political options, and keep the conversation going — don’t give up, keep standing, and keep fighting.
Mr Harrison said he was blown away by the turnout and response to the rally, and was buoyed by the atmosphere on the day and the many positive and productive conversations and discussions the event had started among shooters afterwards.
“It was amazing to see so many people filling the Supreme Court Gardens for the rally; it was a great success,” he said.
“We had people coming in from as far away as Karratha and Albany, and throughout the Wheatbelt — and they all had similar stories about how the new gun laws were going to force them out of the sport, cause havoc with their ability to control feral pests on their farms, or seriously harm their businesses.
“The speakers were absolutely fantastic — I really can’t give enough praise to Louise, Ryan and Augusto for their work. They spoke with conviction and passion, and made some extremely insightful and informed observations and suggestions which the crowd responded positively to.
“There were so many people wanting to speak with us all after the main event that we were still there an hour later.
“We’re still going through our notes even now and finding more things to follow up on, people to connect with, and information to help shooters stand up to the laws and make informed choices at the voting booth.”
I wouldn’t call the rally a success at all. Without media attention it largely went unnoticed to the public and achieved nothing
What an incredible rally! I was surprised by the large turnout, especially considering the efforts from SSAA, WAFCA, and other groups urging for it to be cancelled. The only political party that had the courage to attend was the Libertarian Party.
That’s the problem though. The majority of the voting public don’t care for shooters. This may as well have been a capitulation party for WA shooters and the new legislation.