Last week on local last week, Roland Browne has once again tried to character assassinate law aiding firearm owners by incorrectly claiming that SSAA has links and has received funding from the NRA. This is completely false. Both the NRA and SSAA are grass roots organisations, however NRA would not send resources that it needs to fight its own battles overseas. Almost every European, Balkan, Scandinavian, African and South American country has their own gun rights organisations. It is nonsensical that the NRA would send money to any or all of these organisations.

He also claimed that SSAA has a $20 million yearly income stream. This is also incorrect and deliberately ignores the fact that SSAA is a not for profit organisation, all of the money it makes goes back into providing and improving shooting facilities as well as opportunities for hunters.

Roland Browne objects to the $59,000 in the government budget for SSAA without acknowledging that it is nothing more than a sports grant for an International Grade Clay bird infrastructure. This would benefit the state by enabling the holding of national and international competitions here. We all applaud our Olympic shooters when they win gold for Australia, however this doesn’t happen magically; like all great achievements, it is the result of years of hard work. A set up like this would nurture local talent. There is nothing nefarious about this promise from the government.

For years firearm proponents and most notably Senator David Lyonhelm have questioned how many members GCA has. The fact that Roland Browne has had to climbed onto the Tasmanian Election Inquiry Ltd bandwagon and is calling for more people to join perhaps answers that question.

In order to create anxiety in the public, Mr Browne has implied that the government is intending to allow all licensed gun owners access to Category C firearms and legalise the use of suppressors which again is incorrect.

These proposed changes only affect the farmer’s employees and agents. Most of Tasmania’s 38,000 firearm owners will not be affected.

Claiming that any changes will weaken the NFA is also incorrect. The NFA is a gentleman’s agreement, it has no legal standing and any state can please itself as to what parts it wants to implement as management of firearms is the bailiwick of individual states under the Constitution.
Carlo Di Falco, Spokesman for Firearms Shooters, Fishers and Farmers.