Anti-gunner Roland Browne calls for gun law review

Known anti-gun advocate Roland Browne, from the National Coalition for Gun Control (NCGC), has called for yet another review into Australia’s firearm laws, following what he says is an alarming spate of shootings in Tasmania and an emerging American-style gun culture.

According to the Launceston Examiner’s August 16 article ‘Call for review of gun laws’, Mr Browne said that post-1996 gun laws had dampened large numbers of public shootings and incidences of gun crime, but that more needed to be done, particularly in regards to the ways in which firearms are stored.

“Vigilance is waning and we’re seeing the re-emergence of that culture,” said Mr Brown.

“It’s time for us to focus our attention again on public safety, which is not achieved by imposing token prison sentences but by having the control of guns only in the hands of people fit and capable to use them.

“I think the current Tasmania Police inquiry will go some way to address the issue but there needs to be a focused review on the chain of custody of guns…how they go from being legal to criminal.”

SSAA National encourages Mr Browne to check his sources and read the August 2008 report The Australian Firearms Buyback and Its Effect on Gun Deaths, which found little evidence to suggest that Australia’s post-1996 gun laws and subsequent buybacks had any significant effect on gun-related homicide and suicide rates in Australia.

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