NSW Beefs Up Gun Laws, Triples Max Sentence For Possessing Stolen Firearms

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November 18, 2015

NSW Parliament has last night passed strict new gun laws targeting the illegal firearm trade, in response to the Martin Place siege in December last year.

Possessing a stolen firearm will now be punishable with a maximum penalty of 14-years’ imprisonment.

The maximum penalty for defacing or possessing a defaced firearm has also been severely beefed up, almost tripling from five years to 14.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Police and Justice Troy Grant said in a statement:

“These laws have a clear focus of hitting the illegal firearms trade because it’s clear the illegal gun market presents the threat to the community.”

“This means tough new 14-year penalties for a range of illegal firearm offences, including a new offence of possessing a stolen firearm.”

These new laws also criminalise digital blueprints that would allow for guns to be 3D printed.

They’re one of 17 recommendations (all of which have been accepted by the NSW government) made by a review into the Martin Place siege, which claimed the lives of Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson.

Deputy Premier Grant also took this opportunity to shade the Greens, because reform without the accompanying throw down to any and all other politicians is no reform at all.

“Despite talking up concerns about firearms, [the Greens] did not even talk to the Bill in either House of Parliament,” he said, “showing that they are focused on chasing headlines rather than protecting the community.”

Greens MP David Shoebridge told PEDESTRIAN.TV that this was because these sentence increases will have no impact on crime whatsoever.

“This is just a PR stunt they trot out 18 months,” he said.

“Research shows that increasing time in prison has zero effect in reducing crime, but what it does do is contribute to over-crowding in our prisons.”

Image: NSW Police Facebook.