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Sporting Shooters’ Association of Australia chief executive Tom Kenyon says police can conduct random checks of owners at any time to ensure guns are stored in the legally required manner and the number of firearms match with recorded purchases.
“The police come to your house without warning,” he said. “They don’t tell you they’re coming.”
But Kenyon, who owns about half a dozen guns, said he had been checked randomly only twice in the past 30 years at his residence in South Australia.
He said it typically took at least 28 days for police to issue a permit to acquire for a first firearm.
Kenyon said reports of domestic violence, apprehended violence orders, criminal charges and mental health episodes could result in police checking on gun owners or seizing their firearms. Members of the public can also report concerns about firearm ownership to the police.
To obtain a licence for category A and B long arms, which include rifles and shotguns, I had to undertake practical training at a rifle range under the supervision of expert instructors. I also had to complete online training and a test.
Then there was an extensive police check. The police check document ran to more than a dozen pages. It required 100 points in identification documents, which can include a passport and driver’s licence. The questionnaire asked whether I had any medical or psychiatric conditions or impairments that might impact my ability to hold a licence registration or approval.
Then-prime minister John Howard addressing a gun rally at the Sale Football Club in Victoria in 1996.Credit: Andrew Meares
It also asked about mental health conditions, alcohol- or drug-related problems and physical disabilities. I had to also disclose whether I had been found guilty of any offences in Australia or overseas, whether I had charges pending and if I had ever received a diversion in court among a range of other questions.
In addition to all those requirements, I had to get a declaration from a referee who could attest they had known me for at least 12 months. It asked my reasons for the firearms application, which were hunting and target shooting.
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Since gaining my licence, the only firearm I have handled is a .22 rifle. It is a rifle typically used for hunting rabbits. While it is powerful enough to inflict horrific injuries or even kill a person, it is not considered strong enough for hunting large animals, including deer.
Even upon successful completion of that category A and B process, I was still ineligible to operate automatic or semi-automatic firearms or even pistols. I am no expert on firearms or gun ownership, but I am grateful to former prime minister John Howard for banning automatic and semi-automatic guns. I cannot see how they have any place among recreational hunters or shooters in Australia.
Howard himself has said the laws he brought in probably saved lives on Bondi Beach. “I’ve reflected on a number of occasions since this terrible event how many more people would have died if the guns we outlawed … had still been available for evil people to use,” he told Sky News.
However, the former prime minister added: “I do not want this debate post this horrible event to be used, the focus on guns be used as a pretext to avoid the broader debate about the spread of hatred of Jewish people and antisemitism.”
And as we witnessed in the horrifying events in Bondi on Sunday, the existing firearms that are legally available in Australia can cause devastation to our community when in the hands of those filled with hatred and murderous intent.
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