NSW: NSW govt announces gun amnesty
23 Dec 2008 7:11 AM
SYDNEY, Dec 23 AAP - The NSW government has announced a three-month amnesty targeting unregistered and unlicensed firearms, in a crackdown on gun crime across the state.
Police Minister Tony Kelly said the amnesty would begin on March 1 next year to give those with an unregistered gun an opportunity to hand them in to police.
Under the amnesty those without a gun licence will be able to surrender their firearms without a penalty to any police station.
And those with a licence, but an unregistered weapon, will be able to register them.
"This amnesty will help us keep better track of guns or get those guns off the street," Mr Kelly said in a statement.
"We're sick and tired of gun crime and criminals using guns illegally.
"We will continue to do everything we can to stop criminals from getting hold of guns."
Mr Kelly said a blitz on the safe storage of guns would also be conducted, to make sure owners were obeying the law, and to make it harder for criminals to get their hands on firearms.
"A life lost because of unsecured firearms is too high a price to pay," Mr Kelly said.
"Careless gun owners need to get the message - you either own a firearm lawfully or you won't own one at all.
"The Government is determined to make it harder for criminals to get hold of a gun."
Gun crime and gun ownership have hit the headlines in recent weeks, after a spate of violent incidents and gun-related deaths in Sydney.
The issue of gun ownership changes was raised last week, after Sydney man John Kudrytch shot dead his ex-wife, and then himself, despite being the subject of an apprehended violence order (AVO).
And early this month Josef Cruickshank, 14, was accidentally shot by his best friend during a sleepover at Orangeville, in Sydney's south-west.
His friend, also 14, has since been charged with murder.
A man, believed to be his father, has been charged with a range of firearms offences, including possessing an unregistered weapon and not keeping a firearm safe.
A string of drive-by shootings in western Sydney, linked to a bikie gang war, has also frustrated police.
