Senator stands up for shooting community

Victorian Senator Bridget McKenzie has rallied behind shooters who have been unfairly targeted by police in that state. An avid shooter, Ms McKenzie said our community of law-abiding hunters and sporting shooters have “once again been unfairly singled out by Victoria Police who continue to use the COVID-19 pandemic as a method to strip away the rights of firearm owners.”

Victoria Police has threatened to ‘reprimand, suspend or cancel’ licences of registered firearms owners who breach the current directives of the state’s Chief Health Officer. But Ms McKenzie has pointed out that no comparable section of society is facing such measures – there are no reprimands of fishing licences or the various categories of drivers’ licences. Only law-abiding, licensed firearms owners are the subject of this politically motivated presumption of guilt.

Ms McKenzie said Victoria Police needs to turn its attention away from law-abiding citizens. “Not only does the hunting and shooting industry contribute more than $1 billion to the economy each year, law-abiding firearms owners are responsible for almost no gun-related violence yet are consistently required to endure the consequences of it,” she said.

“Victoria Police must re-examine its agenda and focus its resources on the criminal misuse of firearms, not those who are valuable contributors to society.”

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