Aussie Gunsmith Issues Stark Warning to US Firearm Owners on Gun Control

Australian weapons manufacturer, Lance French, has given a stark warning to gun owners in the United States, saying that firearm control laws, once introduced, never stop expanding. French made these comments during the Western Australian Firearms Community Alliance meeting on April 1, 2023. The meeting was held in response to impending state laws that will further expand the gun control regime in Australia to ban high-powered firearms.

According to French, following the 1996 Port Arthur massacre that claimed the lives of 35 individuals, the Australian government began an ongoing program of gun control. Lance French, owner of SGS Industries, says, “They started the buyback, they got rid of semi-auto stuff, and they just kept going.”

French warns US gun owners that gun control laws just keep expanding and it is relentless. He says, “They’re making these false claims that certain items are dangerous when what’s dangerous is a person, and it’s a very low percentage of people.”

Meanwhile, gun owner Kate Fantinel said that the Western Australian government should focus on cost-of-living pressures in the region, especially rising inflation and interest rate hikes, instead of creating problems out of thin air. She added, “As a young woman, that’s something important to me, and I’m horrified that I can’t defend myself.”

High-Powered Firearms to Be Banned in Australia

The Western Australian Labor government plans to carry out a ban on high-powered firearms that can fire over long distances and are armor-piercing. This is part of the toughest gun control laws in the country. The ban would make 56 types of firearms and 19 calibers of ammunition illegal, resulting in the prohibition of 248 licensed firearms that must be disposed of by July 1, 2023. Premier Mark McGowan has stated that these weapons could fall into the wrong hands, and the consequences could be devastating while they remain in the community.

Although the law targets legal owners, the number of weapons on the “grey market” or undeclared still remains high. A study by the University of Sydney in 2021 revealed that over 260,000 illegal firearms were available on the “grey market,” and there were suggestions that the number could be as high as 600,000.

US Gun Control Debate Resurfaces After School Shooting

The gun control debate has resurfaced in the United States after yet another school shooting. House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, demanded that the Republican-led House vote on gun control legislation “immediately” following the Nashville shooting. He made the appeal in a March 31 letter to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), in which the top Democrat urged for tighter restrictions on gun ownership in the US.