It never ceases to amaze me how emotive the possession; ownership ; and use of F/A's can be. Personally I've never approved of the Commissioner's Permit. Though I dare say hundreds of police may do so. In my opinion; irrespective of who you may be, you apply for a licence in exactly the same way as everyone else, without exception.

STEELEREDUX; you might recall in an earlier post on July 07; I alluded to Mr Edward's obvious wealth and being well to do? Suggesting he might've had some influence with authorities? Which turned out to be right. As such he received extraordinary treatment above and beyond that, which any ordinary applicant must comply with.

You might also recall, I didn't want to comment any further on it - well there it is for all to see, the *Commissioner's 'friggin' Permit*. As a result 3 souls are now dead. Whatever bastard Commissioner who granted that Permit...well I hope it's assuaged your lousy conscience in some measure? Nothing like having a good mate in high places I guess!

All applicants for a F/A licence *MUST* go through the same scrutiny as everyone else. The Premier, should instantaneously cancel the Commissioners Permit. It's abuse is a step too far, and too costly in terms of human lives.

o sung wu,

You've hit the nail just where it's meant to be hit!!

//A Commissioner's Permit overrides all//

No, no it does not. A Comissioner's Permit overrides the P650 form; it does not require a club to accept anybody's application for membership.

When Edwards applied to join the Ku-Ring-Gai Pistols Club, it wasn't just the P650 that got him rejected - it was also because club officials did not find him to be of good character. At the end of the day, the final discretion to grant somebody membership to a gun club rests with that gun club. The buck stops with them. Even with a Commisioner's Permit, the St Mary’s Indoor Shooting Centre could have refused his application for exactly the same reason that the Ku-Ring-Gai club did. But they chose not to.

Which is interesting to say the least. Readers may be interested to note that the Ku-Ring-Gai Pistols Club is not affiliated with the SSAA, whereas St. Mary's is. And we know the SSAA wants its membership to be as large as possible, so that it has the numbers and more importantly the cash to wield politcal clout.

So as far as I can tell, they were happy to sign up a bloke who by all accounts had a few obvious screws loose so that they could add another member to the books. With their motivation for garnering more members being to increase their lobbying power so they can make it even easier for nutters like Edwards to get their hands on guns in the future.

Truly disturbing.

Toni,

The Commissioner of Police in NSW has overriding power under the Firearms Act, he can nullify a Magistrate's or even a Judge's decision to grant a licence/permit.
The Firearms Act is the only legislation in the Commonwealth, afaik, that gives this right to an individual.

Officers of a gun club have no legal right to investigate anyone beyond the word of mouth level, to do otherwise is to invite prosecution for invasion of privacy and possibly slander.

When one applies for a licence there is a 28 day cooling off period, during which the police conduct a thorough LEGAL investigation into the applicant.

If a licence is granted then the first Permit to Purchase is subject to the same LEGAL investigation and a 28 day waiting period.

This waiting period commences the day that the application is recorded and ends before the paper work is issued.

Such other LEGAL investigations may be instituted as the Commissioner requires.

It ain't a rubber stamp job.

//Officers of a gun club have no legal right to investigate anyone beyond the word of mouth level//

No, of course not.

But they're still allowed to tell 'em to take a hike if they can see that they're a wrong'un, even if they've got a Commissioner's permit and a note from their Mum to boot.

It just sometimes... when they're affiliated with the SSAA... they choose not to.

Hey, gotta get that membership up somehow. With no money and no influence you're just a bunch gun nuts that nobody will listen to.

Toni,

" With no money and no influence you're just a bunch gun nuts that nobody will listen to."

That's right, that's why some of us formed The Shooters' Party.

The SSAA has plenty of money, even their own insurance company, catering to their members but also doing general insurance.

Marvellous what John Howard achieved.