'afternoon to you STEELEREDUX...

Mate I don't know anymore, I'm too old for all this I really am?

I'll try to address your questions, after all you're entitled to some sort of answer, as to why the laws seem to have failed?

I wasn't aware of the AVO or the fact he had been rejected by two gun clubs, for m'ship. Are you very sure it was police who granted his licence? Hand on heart; I wouldn't have. I'd refer him to the magistracy if he wanted a gun so much!

When I was a Lic. Sergeant, a person needed to be a (i) member of a registered Pistol Club for a (ii) minimum period of six months, involving (iii) regular attendance. An Attendance Certificate must be furnished, signed by either the Club Captain or the Armourer (both of whom are authorised persons pursuant to the Act & Regs) attesting to the truth of that regular attendance.

You can't punish a Club for the actions of one of it's members?

I've nothing to do with the 'Gun Lobby' S.R. Moreover, I don't have a gun of any description.

You, and many others (quite rightly) say the Gun laws are too slack '...and scream, Lax Gun Laws and things need to change...' Believe it or not, they're are pretty onerous as they are.

What further measures would you like to see, in order to further strengthen them; STEELEREDUX?

Hi Steele,

The mob down at Sport Shooters offer advice to those with AVO's against them how best to get a licence under the circumstance. They downplay the gravity of AVO's. A bit of editorialising by the gun freaks in question when giving advice to one;

"Secondly, many of the incidents giving rise to AVO’s are very low level, and are not what you or I would consider domestic violence. Many are little more than heated arguments."

In their response they spend much time slamming the AVO system.

"most experienced Family Lawyers will honestly admit that a significant percentage- that in my experience is as high as 20%, are maliciously motivated, and intended to:

"Improve a parties position in Family law proceedings involving Children, Get a party out of the home, Rubbish the other party’s reputation, vent anger, Disrupt the other party’s social activities by denying access to firearms."

Dear o sung wu,

Thank you for your response.

Here is the thing though. It appears the clubs have been set up as defacto approval or refusal agencies. If an applicant has a valid membership and a signed record of attendance then the rest of the procedure seems to be a bit of a formality.

Obviously this bloke went club shopping until he found one that was prepared to take him as a member, otherwise he wold not have been issued his licence.

This is why I deem whichever club it was worthy of, in the very least, having its operations suspended and a full audit conducted of all its members. In my opinion there is a reasonable suspicion that its assessment rules are somewhat more lax that those of other clubs, and it may well be that the less than savoury types have ended up finding it as a club of last resort.

You wrote;

“I think this whole family were quite well off money wise, given the salubrious area in which they resided.”

Turns out that many of those 'salubrious' suburbs have among the highest ratio of guns to people;

“THEY are some of Australia’s most prestigious suburbs, with sweeping views of Sydney Harbour and where even getting on the bottom rung of the property ladder will set you back several million dollars. But there’s another figure that these ritzy neighbourhoods are less keen on crowing about, a figure that runs contrary to the image they’ve taken so long to cultivate. New data on registered firearms has revealed some of the country’s most well-heeled suburbs have an eye-watering number of guns and in some cases surprisingly more than other, less salubrious, parts of town.”
http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/new-data-reveals-the-high-number-of-guns-per-person-in-australias-richest-suburbs/news-story/9ee47e8a89e8700adda0d6bce51a2559

Lax laws promoted and lobbied by Shooters parties are coming home to roost and Aussie kids are dying as a result. If we are going to continue to foist this kind of responsibility on clubs then far better training is required along with far stronger penalties when they get it wrong.

Lax laws promoted and lobbied by Shooters parties are coming home to roost
SteeleRedux,
Yes, but this can only be achieved if education pulls up its socks. To talk sense you need a receptive mind. Presently the indoctrination in the education system is playing into the hands of the stupid who then go out & get guns.

Oops, that was pasted accidentally.

Dear o sung wu,

When you say you “don't know any more” I would consider that a good thing. It means that you are able to put aside an entrenched perspective (who doesn't have those over 50) and be open to rethinking your position.

You should celebrate it rather than bemoan it.

I did a major reboot on an issue recently and it can be a bit confronting. However continuing to learn throughout your entire life is something I consider a real blessing. I hope I am also still capable of it at your venerable years.