Illegal gun traffickers could face life in jail


Legal firearms owners are forever suffering the actions of criminals when it comes to gun related crime. The fact is most gun crime is committed bycriminals withunregistered guns.

No amnesty or buyback is ever going to remove these illegal weapons from the streets. Criminals are never going to walk in and hand their weapons over. The only people to ever comply are the law abiding firearm owners.

Policy is being introduced that targets the real problem of gun related crime.The policy will target the Illegal firearms and the criminals that traffic them. Firearm traffickers could be locked up for life under a tough new compromise put forward to smash Australia’s gun trade.

The federal Opposition will propose a new aggravated firearms trafficking offence as an alternative to the government’s twice-rejected push for mandatory minimum sentences of five years for trafficking.

The Turnbull Government will move again to introduce tougher penalties for firearm-related crime when the Bill is reintroduced to the Senate as early as tomorrow.

But Labor is again expected to block any introduction of mandatory minimum sentences and will move to make major amendments, including a maximum term of life in jail.

The new laws would apply to trafficking 50 or more firearms or firearms parts in a six-month period.

Opposition justice spokeswoman Clare O’Neil said Labor backed strong penalties for serious gun traffickers so the punishment fits the crime.

“We don’t support mandatory minimum sentences simply because they don’t work,” she told the Herald Sun.

“They have already been rejected by the Senate twice for this reason.

Opposition justice spokeswoman Clare O’Neil says Labor backs strong penalties for serious gun traffickers.

“We need serious action not absurd and childish game playing. The Coalition should stop wasting time on things that don’t work and join Labor in putting serious gun traffickers away for life.

Gun control issues have plagued the Government since it placed a temporary import ban on the Adler level-action shot gun two years ago.

It sparked criticism from within its own ranks that it was reacting to “fearmongering” and from the public that it was considering weakening the National Firearms Agreement.

Justice Minister Michael Keenan has said mandatory minimum sentences send a “strong and clear” message that gun-related crime and violence will not be tolerated.

“If Labor cared about cracking down on illegal firearms, they would support our legislation to crack down on illegal firearms trafficking,” he said.

“A vote against this bill is a vote in support of more illegal guns on our streets.”

 

 

 


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