Just days after a three-year-old girl died from a gunshot wound in Sydney, Greens MP David Shoebridge used the tragedy to spread more misinformation about firearm laws. Mr Shoebridge attacked the New South Wales Government for apparently “watering down safe storage laws”, telling Fairfax Media that: “The law used to provide that if any firearm wasn’t safety stored it was automatically confiscated… Parliament should urgently reverse these changes.”
The reality is the firearm in question was unregistered and illegally modified. Furthermore, the firearm was allegedly obtained by the unlicensed father of the girl, who was known to authorities. Unfortunately, criminals do not adhere to laws. The SSAA will always correct the record when it comes to the reality of our strict firearm laws and condemn any attempts to muddy the waters for cheap political gain.
Notorious anti-gun commentator Philip Alpers also used the Sydney toddler shooting tragedy to spread misinformation. “Just like the illegal sawn-off weapon in the Lindt Cafe shooting, this would have started out as a lawfully held firearm owned by a licensed firearm shooter who would have lost control of it,” Mr Alpers told the ABC. This statement was later taken down following valid complaints from legitimate firearm owners.
Again, the reality is that authorities could not trace where the firearm used by Man Horan Monis came from. As the SSAA-LA has previously reported, inquiries into the Sydney Siege found it was never registered, it was illegally modified and Mr Monis was never a licensed firearm owner.