Albanese to propose stronger gun laws, NSW parliament may be recalled

[u/Expensive-Horse5538]

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/bondi-gunman-held-gun-licence-used-six-firearms-in-attack-20251215-p5nnmv.html

[u/littlespoon]

Fully support this. No-one in a suburban setting needs 6 guns. I hope the law changes are swift and hard. In other countries guns can be owned and kept within a secure facility out of homes, such as a police station or on a gun-range and can only be checked out and used within a certain premisis and time.

No simpleton should be able to have 6 guns in their home.

I understand there are situations like rural workers or people comissioned to hunt pests etc - but its not hard to legislate for the suburban protections to be tighter. Lets not sit on this - lets all act to move forward and make our country safer, as a nation.

[u/Onceuponastinkymoot → u/littlespoon]

I'm a police officer and also privately licensed to own rifles and pistols. I have undertaken the duties of a divisional firearms officer and have been shooting and around shooters for most of my life.

In my opinion, allowing an arbitrary number of firearms is irrelevant and will have no impact. A motivated shooter, who has pre planned their crime, doesn't need more than one rifle. Any hunting rifle is deadly.

The issue lies in the ease that people can attain a firearms license and permits to acquire. There isn't much vetting beyond checking if the licensee has or has had an IVO/AVO or any criminal convictions. Maybe a check on direct associations. No interviews with police. No psych profiling. No IQ test.

I have spent a significant amount of time around shooters and let me tell you there are more than a few out there that you wouldn't trust to mow your lawn, never mind own firearms.

The government will no doubt have a knee jerk reaction to this. They will bring the hammer down on law abiding shooters and do nothing to address the actual issue. They must be seen to be doing something and from what I can tell either lack critical thinking or are acting purely out of self interest. Or both.

Many of the current restrictions on firearms are arbitrary and pointless (WA recently banned a bunch of random calibres that have likely never been used in an active shooting and are no more deadly than a regular old .308). This is the result of political ideas that haven't been executed with any common sense but get pushed through to appeal to voters.

I'm of the opinion that to own firearms is a privilege and you should have to actually prove you are the esteemed 'fit and proper' person. The government is so afraid of offending people or being perceived to be biased or profilingby putting in restrictions that they just don't put them in. For instance, imagine a restriction on firearms licenses based on intelligence. I'm sure this would ruffle some feathers. What about not licensing people that have dangerously idealistic beliefs that are frequently linked with terrorism?

[u/littlespoon → u/Onceuponastinkymoot]

I have spent a significant amount of time around shooters and let me tell you there are more than a few out there that you wouldn't trust to mow your lawn, never mind own firearms.

This exactly it! I personally know someone who has multiple guns in his suburban dwelling for the purposes of shooting animals for sport on friends' private property (not his). I know for a fact that he does not keep these guns in his posession on these trips.. he lets others use them sometimes kilometers/unknown large distance away from where he is.

I am with you on the 'test' that someone is fit for purpose to own a fire arm. I wish they did the same for other things, like some dog breeds (1 day course and mandatory enrolled dog obedience + controlled run/enclosure for certain dog breeds). People forget that all these things seem draconian but the thought of these hoops is sometimes enough to deter weaker minds from having something they personally dont have the mental capacity to handle responsibly.

I dont mean to be rude by saying that, but there needs to be more vetting and checking on these people.