SPORTING
SHOOTERS’ ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA INC.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Australian
Government should follow Kiwi’s lead on firearm
safety initiative
The Australian
Government should follow
the effects of firearm
legislation, says Sporting Shooters’ Association of Australia (S.S.A.A.) President
Bob Green.
Mr Green was one of
120 delegates who attended the International Safety Seminar ‘In the right hands’ in
last
week along with delegates and police forces from the
Government and sports shooting and hunting associations.
The inaugural
seminar attracted speakers from the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia,
including Dr Jenny Mouzos
from the Australian
Institute of Criminology, Professor Gary Mauser from the Institute for Canadian
Urban Research Studies
and the US’s Rick Patterson from the Sporting Arms and
Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI) and the New Zealand
Safety Council
in charge of firearms safety and hunting programs.
“This was the first
time in the Southern Hemisphere that a seminar has been organised by a
government to communicate
and consult with all
interested parties in ensuring firearm safety,” Mr Green said.
“The only proviso
was that speakers had to present academically robust research, not opinion
pieces. In fact the official
motto was ‘solid
research, not pious hopes’ - a phrase any good legislation should have at
its heart.”
The seminar,
partially sponsored by the SSAA, was also praised by the United Nations
Director of Peace and
Disarmament for
to the United Nations Seminar to be held in June in
Among many of the
facts and findings of the seminar was that firearm legislation in New Zealand
has failed to reduce
the overall suicide rate, and that the common bath and a
washing bucket were among the most dangerous items in
the house posing a risk
to children.
“We don’t have to
agree on everything and I doubt we ever will,” Mr Green said. “But if our
legislators want to make
laws that matter, be they on recreational firearms or
any other issue they must be made on fact not just good intentions.
“This seminar was
an excellent opportunity that brought together a variety of parties interested
in firearm safety
and with high quality international speakers with the right
qualifications and experience.
“
with the opportunity to see how others deal with firearm safety and
I strongly urge the government to follow
sensible, round
table seminar on firearm safety.”
For further comments please call S.S.A.A. National President Bob Green on 0411 404 284.