The Australia Institute’s recent report distorts the reality of Legal Firearms ownership in Australia.
Sporting Shooters Association of Australia CEO Tom Kenyon said “Sport Shooting in Australia is safe and does not compromise public safety.
“Australian State’s are almost fully compliant with the National Firearms Agreement with the obvious exception of the National Firearms Register which is underway.
Firearms deaths are lower than before the NFA was introduced regardless of the number of guns that are registered.”
- In 1996, the rate of gun deaths in Australia was 2.9 per 100,000 people
- In 2018, the rate of gun deaths in Australia was 0.88 per 100,000 people
A 2021 study by the University of Sydney found that the proportion of Australian households with a firearm had fallen by 75% since 1997. (https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2021/04/28/new-gun-ownership-figures-revealed-25-years-on-from-port-arthur.html)
The National Firearms agreement is working and there is no evidence to support the conclusion that legal firearms pose a problem in Australia.
In fact, Target and Precision sports (including shooting) is the safest sport in Australia according to the Federal Government’s Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/sports-injury/sports-injury-in-australia/contents/sports-participation-and-injury-rates).
Contrary to the assertion by the report, children are not allowed to own firearms in Australia.
None of the 6 “policy criteria” outlined in the report with its dramatic red and green colour scheme are required by the National Firearms Agreement.
Mr Kenyon said “The report, funded by Gun Control Australia and the Australian Gun Safety Alliance is in fact a bald-faced attempt to once again paint sporting shooters as a malign influence in the community when in fact, the opposite is true.
“The real problem is that not enough effort is being put into targeting illegal firearms in Australia. Over 95% of crimes committed with a firearm in Australia use an illegal firearm and yet there is constant focus on legal firearms.”
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For further comment, contact Tom Kenyon M 0439 977 211 E Tom Kenyon <[email protected]>
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The SSAA is Australia’s largest shooting organisation with over 218,000 members. It facilitates the shooting sports through the provision of firearms safety training, ranges and other facilities, the organisation of competitions and advocacy on behalf of sporting shooters.The SSAA remains available to provide journalists with technical background information on firearms and shooting as well as comment on public matters.