Sunday, February 5, 2012

Media Release by Hon Rob Borsak MLC, Shooters and Fishers Party.

MEDIA RELEASE 

Gun control lobby must face facts: 

Firearm theft rate is falling 

01 February 2012 Shooters and Fishers Party MLC, the Hon. Robert Borsak said today that firearm theft is decreasing in NSW as the ownership of firearms rises, contrary to the misleading claims of the Greens and the so-called National Coalition for Gun Control.

He said that for more than 10 years, the theft rate has been declining in NSW, from a peak of 851 guns taken in 2001 to as low as 449 in 2006. "Meanwhile, ownership has continued to increase as the shooting sports become more popular among law-abiding NSW citizens, a trend that clearly demonstrates there is no correlation between the number of registered firearms in society and the rate at which they’re stolen. "In fact, based on NSW Firearm Registry figures, between 2001 and 2011, theft rates plunged from 0.137% of registered firearms to just 0.057%.

That is one of the great success stories in the fight against crime in NSW, Mr Borsak, said. He said this dramatic reduction in theft rates speaks volumes for the way in which responsible, law-abiding firearm owners have acted to secure their firearms and keep them out of criminal hands. “If we’d been able to cut the road toll by a similar proportion, we would be celebrating a major achievement.

Instead, firearm owners and society in general have been barraged with fear-mongering from the Greens and the National Coalition for Gun Control, which have both recently stated that firearm theft is increasing. "And their tactics are caught in the spotlight as final figures for 2011 are compiled, revealing what will probably be the lowest rate of theft (0.057%) ever recorded in NSW – certainly since figures have been kept.

Firearm owners in NSW are doing the right thing and have nothing to hide, which cannot be said of the people criticising them.

 “The Greens have an ideological hatred of firearms, while the National Coalition for Gun Control is a secretive entity that appears to have two members, does not accept new members, has no address and does nothing but pop out of its hole to make shrill claims and then disappear again, avoiding any questions that might expose its true colours,” he said. A summary of firearm theft figures in NSW has been compiled by the International Coalition for Women Into Shooting and Hunting (WiSH) and is available at this link:

 http://www.ic-wish.org/WiSH%20Fact%20sheet%20Trends%20in%20firearms%20theft%20in%20NSW.pdf

The Hon. Robert Borsak 

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