community, guns, Greens Hunter spokesman David Shoebridge, licensed firearms, chris barrett

The debate about gun ownership has taken another turn, with a Thornton firearms dealer accusing Greens Hunter spokesman David Shoebridge of showing contempt for law-abiding citizens. Mr Shoebridge told the Mercury this week that a steep increase in legal gun ownership across the state would lead to a rise in the number of guns being leaked onto the black market. His comments came after news that licensed gun ownership in all postcodes in the Maitland and Cessnock region had shot up between 22.1 per cent and 38.8 per cent in the past five years. But Mr Shoebridge has raised the ire of a prominent member of Maitland’s community of gun owners. Thornton licensed firearms dealer Chris Barrett said Mr Shoebridge’s comments showed contempt for gun owners who were law-abiding citizens. “This is an argument that the Greens took to the recent Senate inquiry into the ability of Australian law enforcement authorities to ­eliminate gun-related violence in the community,” he said. “During the inquiry, whilst the theft of legal firearms was noted, the illegal importation of illicit firearms was seen as a major threat. “The NSW Police Force noted that the illegal importation of firearms, especially modern handguns and assault rifles, is a key driver of gun crime in NSW. "To assert, as David Shoebridge does, that licensed firearm owners are the reason for illicit firearms shows contempt for law-abiding people.” Mr Shoebridge told the Mercury that the growing pool of legal guns in NSW was one of the principle sources of black market firearms. He accused the gun lobby of attempting to distract the com­munity’s attention away from ­effective gun control by steering ­public debate toward the need for tighter sentencing of people who committed gun crimes. The new figures show that there are more than 850,000 registered guns in NSW.

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