Concerned gun owners grill WA Nationals about plans for 2024 Firearms Act Reform they dub a power “overreach”

More than 250 concerned stakeholders gathered at Retravision Stadium on January 23 to grill the Nationals WA about what they plan to do about tough new firearms legislation, dubbing it a “massive overreach”. Opposition Leader Shane Love and member for Roe Peter Rundle joined Albany candidate Scott Leary, Kalgoorlie candidate Tony Herron and Cowaramup candidate Julie Kirby as speakers at the 2024 Firearms Act Reform forum. In an opening statement to the forum Mr Love said WA gun owners haved been unfairly targeted by the WA Labor Government with the enacting of the reforms that were passed in June last year. The Firearms Act Reform 2024 replaces the 1973 legislation and will make WA’s gun laws the strictest in the country. The new, more-stringent measures include mandatory training and education, storage and licensing restrictions, limits on the number of guns held, compulsory physical and mental health checks and other restrictive provisions. The reform will affect about 90,000 WA gun owners, with WA Police predicting that up to 40,000 guns could be removed. “People who have done nothing wrong in their entire lives, who have led blameless lives with no convictions, with no criminal history, who are suddenly being treated as if they are the threat to the public, and (a) threat to law and order in WA,” Mr Love said. Mr Love labelled the release of a map in 2024 showing the locations of handguns and rifles in WA a “stunt” that people could use to identify streets and homes where firearms were stored. Concerned stakeholders in the crowd called for the repeal of the legislation, with some shooters saying the reforms threatened their livelihoods. In response the Opposition Leader promised a disallowance of the Act in the first week of government if elected and to develop a “proper” legal framework for gun owners. One stakeholder who said he had been shooting since he was 17 years old said the act does not need rewriting but instead needs to be scrapped entirely. Mr Love explained to the crowd that though he did disagree with the reforms enacted by the State Government, the reforms are based on Law Reform Commission reports and recommendations. Former Department of Justice officer Scott Bowen asked the Nationals candidates what they were going to do about the “massive overreach” of WA police. He said most violent acts in WA are often not committed with firearms and that the reforms are “cynically targeting” firearms owners. A WA Labor spokesperson accused the Nationals of misleading owners and politicising the issue in a “desperate effort to win votes”. “Community safety is at the forefront of the new laws, which include restrictions on the number of guns individuals can own, prohibition orders, mandatory safety training, mental health checks and strict new storage requirements,” they said. “The reality is under these reforms anyone who legitimately needs a firearm for work purposes will continue to be able to own one. That includes vermin control.” More than 30,000 people signed an e-petition against the new law — the largest e-petition ever presented to the WA Government. New regulations under the act will officially commence from March 31.