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Your views: on guns and government support

Today, readers comment on a rush for firearms and ammunition, and qualifying for income support.

Apr 06, 2020, updated Apr 06, 2020
Photo: Keith Srakocic/AP

Photo: Keith Srakocic/AP

Commenting on the story: Rush on SA gun shops “similar to toilet paper”: dealers

I’ve never written a comment to an article before but this one really struck me. As a US citizen residing permanently in Australia, the gun issue hits close to home and I felt compelled to respond. 

The buying of arms and bulk buying of ammunition by the general public during this uncharted and challenging time should be scrutinised and largely prohibited for the entirety of the Covid-19 outbreak.

We’ve been through stockpiling of toilet paper, which was selfish and silly, and an inconvenience to those confronted by empty shelves in the grocery stores.

Limits were swiftly put in place and enforced. No bottoms will go without.

It stands to reason that if buying toilet paper is limited during the Covid outbreak, surely guns and ammunition should be as well.

Panic manifests in different ways, and to dramatically different effect. Buying a few dozen rolls of toilet paper is something we can all have a laugh about, thanks to rationing.

Print cartoons, comedy shows and filler news stories are now the outlets for defunct toilet paper hoarding. No real harm done.

Gun and ammunition hoarding, on the other hand, taps into a very dark and dangerous side of the human psyche that should never be indulged, but rather examined and, like toilet paper hoarding, shut down succinctly and now.Danielle Duvoisin

Ridiculous moves. The ammunition buy-up was already happening, because people wanted to avoid the 20% price increase and was made worse by WA’s move to use emergency powers to close an entire industry overnight.

The entire system means that people who can buy firearms and ammunition are some of the most vetted people around, held to a higher standard of the law and usually abdicate certain freedoms so they can maintain their ability to enjoy their hobby. (In particular, the ability of the police to conduct random safe inspections).

The fact that government officials in Victoria would smear gun owners as domestic abusers is dishonest and disgusting, many gun owners are very respectable people – who may be doctors, nurses, lawyers, engineers, police officers etc.

It is also hypocritical, as they would use this as an excuse to close down an industry – putting even more people at work, because of ‘an expected spike in domestic violence incidents.’ but would leave liquor stores open – alcohol having a much stronger correlation to domestic violence than gun ownership.

There are people who are not farmers, who hunt to put food on the table, it is a cheap source of high quality protein.

These bans essentially cut these people off from doing that, similar to the fishing bans.

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If the ‘experts’ decide that we must go to such extreme measures, then so be it (Though both can be and frequently are solo activities) but why are we still allowing people in congested shopping centres?

Why are people still allowed to run around suburbia?

It’s this hypocrisy that people are most upset about. – Stefan Robinson

Commenting on the story: Wage subsidies for business revealed in mammoth $130 billion package

Whilst the government at both federal and state level have moved to support individuals who now find themselves out of work, I find it frustrating to find that those workers who are needed on the frontline, nurses/police/teachers, are in fact ruling out any of this support going to the unemployed in their family as they earn more than the prescribed (gross) income level.

Neither I or my adult son (under 22) can access any Centrelink support unless my wife leaves the frontline or in my child’s case, we ask them to leave home.

Because state based support is linked to Centrelink payment, we miss out on all support. The politicians and bureaucrats didn’t think this through. – Chris Mesecke

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We’ll publish the best comments in a regular “Reader Views” post. Your comments can be brief, or we can accept up to 350 words, or thereabouts.

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