The head of a children’s charity that lobbied for a ban on lever-action shotguns has once again confused the issue of legal firearms ownership with the criminal misuse of firearms in a misguided statement posted on social media.

The Alannah and Madeline Foundation (AMF) CEO Lesley Podesta took to Twitter following reports that a 15-year-old boy was shot in the head by a known assailant who broke into his Sydney home earlier this month. Ms Podesta posted: “Beyond comprehension. Child shot while sleeping in bed. NSW government now is NOT the time to relax gun laws”. In response to the Tweet, a fellow Twitter user asked if Ms Podesta actually thinks the shooter “used a legal licensed gun?”

While the SSAA sympathises with the family of the deceased, it is beyond our comprehension why Ms Podesta would be of the view that firearms laws, which overwhelmingly target law-abiding shooters, would stop these violent crimes. Furthermore, New South Wales Police has since indicated that the shooting was a revenge attack linked to a previous homicide, where a teenager was stabbed to death by another teen with a knife in July last year.

It appears that neither Ms Podesta nor the AMF spoke out against the stabbing death at the time, indicating the charity does not view stabbing deaths in the same light as gun deaths. The SSAA will continue to call out those who link us, the law-abiding shooter, with criminals who illegally use guns.