Self-defence push backed
Tragic events reason for gun control
RESIDENTS yesterday backed calls from the Shooters Union Australia for the government to clarify and strengthen self-defence laws.
SUA vice president David Brown wants the ambiguity around gun laws, which leave licensed firearms owners at risk of prosecution for defending their homes from intruders, clarified.
Mr Brown this week told The Chronicle guns were the “only means of levelling the playing field against an aggressor”, and his view has earned support from readers.
“The right to self defence is a declared basic human right by the UN,” Peter Solomon said.
“Australians are currently at the mercy of the criminal element.”
Current gun ownership laws require firearms and ammunition to be stored separately and inside a locked and secure safe, a fact pointed out by Timothy Swinson.
“How are you going to get both your safes open and load a weapon to defend yourself…. Bad buy will have got you by that time,” he said.
Doreen Harrison agreed: “By the time you realise there’s an invader in the house there is no time to get the key to unlock the gun safe, then unlock the ammo safe, then load the gun.
“The invader has the upper hand.”
However, the tragic events in Las Vegas where 59 people were killed and hundreds more injured at country music festival prompted strong views on the issue of gun control and ownership.
“Best recent example of why we need the current laws,” Kim Godfrey said.
“There should be, and is already, some leeway in terms of self-defence in your own home though any watering down the gun laws is not a great idea.
“A 23-year-old living on Margaret St in Toowoomba does not need a gun. They may want one, but there is no need.”