GUN LAWS WILL AFFECT COMMUNITY SPIRIT SAYS SYKES

[erron]

Dear All,

Please find attached a media release recently sent by Bill Sykes Member for Benalla which may be of interest to you.

Regards,

SSAA (Vic)


GUN LAWS WILL AFFECT COMMUNITY SPIRIT SAYS SYKES

The Nationals Member for Benalla, Bill Sykes, speaking in Parliament last
week said that the new raft of gun laws introduced by the Government is
likely to have an adverse effect upon the shooting sports and of community
participation in target shooting activity generally.

Dr Sykes said "I strongly support any rational move to protect public
safety. However, much of the raft of new legislation is wide of the mark."

"The main focus of the new firearm laws will impact upon the law-abiding,
not the criminals. Many traditional activities involving firearms such as
collecting and youth training shoots will be severely curtailed under the
new legislation."

"The impact of the new laws has already been felt, with between 30-50% of
target handgun shooters electing to leave the sport. This includes many
international competitors who say that the new laws have taken the fun out
of competition shooting making it now more like work than recreation," said
Dr Sykes.

Dr Sykes continued, "Firearm homicide has been on the decline for over 20
years, but homicide by sharp instrument, like knives and scissors, and
homicide by hands and feet have all been increasing, so the real impact of
the firearms legislation on crime is likely to be negligible, but its
impact upon the shooting sports will be extensive."

"I am also concerned that sport shooting organisations were not consulted
during the process of formulating the new laws. They were presented with a
fait-accompli and told that is how things will now be. People who do not
understand how the sport works formulated the laws and it is the legitimate
sport shooters who will now suffer whilst for the criminals it will be
business as usual."

"I call upon the Government to undertake genuine consultation with firearm
owner and collector organisations and to take on board their suggestions to
achieve improved public safety outcomes with minimum unintended
consequences on legitimate firearm owners."

Dr Sykes concluded, "I certainly hope that the new gun laws have the
desired effect of reducing crime, but somehow I doubt that they will. I
think the main effect will be to diminish the sport of target shooting and
to remove much of the community spirit and participation that used to be a
part of such events."

Media contact: Bill Sykes (03) 5762 2100 or 0427 624 989


_______________________________________________
Ssaavic mailing list
Ssaavic@lists.internode.on.net
http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/ssaavic

[doninkaliphornistan]

when will "legislators" learn that it's not the firearm that commits crimes?