THE good effects of gun reform has been “overblown in political rhetoric”, according to Sporting Shooters Association of Australia state president David Handyside.
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It has been 20 years since the Port Arthur Massacre, which spurred a range of national control measures.
“The firearms community has learnt to adapt but it is still a somewhat flawed arrangement,” Mr Handyside said.
Mr Handyside, who is also a former farmer, said the rules had some “unintended consequences”, as they were put together by people who knew little about firearms or competitive shooting, with inconsistencies about what firearms were allowed where.
The SSAA state branch were involved in the update to the SA Firearms Bill 2015, which helped “provide more clarity for us as legitimate gun owners and police”.
Mr Handyside would like to see a similar arrangement to look at the National Firearms Act.
“It is probably a good time to look at some of these anomalies and attempt to correct them,” he said. “But I don’t think there is the political will to carry it through.”
Mr Handyside did not think there was any need to tighten regulations further.
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“I believe current regulations are more than adequate,” he said.
“It is quite an onerous process to obtain a license and strictly controlled at every level.”
Last week former Prime Minister John Howard told Fairfax Media, rural Australians have accepted the reforms and were not prevented from farming and hunting effectively.
“The modern farmer on the land can operate reasonably with the prohibition,” he said. “That’s the impression I get without any strong evidence to the contrary.”
Many regional residents claimed the changes vilified legitimate gun owners. But Mr Howard said the decline in firearm deaths spoke for itself – adding that he rarely heard complaints from the bush these days.
“Even though the circumstances are different in places like America, we can say at least we did 20 years ago what could be done to make Australia safer,” he said.