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Tough new Victorian gun laws could result in a repeat of the dilemma of Border farmer David Dunstan if not clarified, Tim McCurdy has warned. Mr Dunstan’s three guns were seized after he grabbed an unloaded rifle to confront an armed would-be intruder at his Bungowannah property in September, but were eventually returned to him. The Victorian laws will be modelled on those in NSW, giving police the power to take individuals’ firearms if it is in the public interest. Ovens Valley MP Mr McCurdy told Parliament this week he would support the law, he but wanted to make some changes. “Mr Dunstan got an unloaded gun out of his safe and I would not say he brandished the gun, but he held the gun,” he said. “Clearly he was not using it to protect himself at 3 o’clock in the morning with an ice-affected person coming at him, it was obviously what he felt comfortable with at the time.” The firearms amendment bill also cracked down on organised crime gangs, drive-by shootings and redefined the traffickable quantity of unregistered firearms from four down to two. Mr McCurdy called for the ability to ban firearm owners deemed to be “not fit and proper” from holding a licence before they committed a crime. “The prohibited person scheme only applies after the event – a retrospective measure is probably not ideal in this situation,” he said. “We certainly support tough gun laws. When I say that, that is for those who are a risk to the community. “We do not want this to have unintended consequences for registered and legitimate gun owners, so we have to protect their rights at the same time.”

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