Good shooting organisations are hard to find.
When you do find one, hang onto it.
Don’t cop bad laws
IF WE were to blindly accept our gun laws the way they are and do nothing else, we’ll simply end up with more laws we don’t want.
We’d end up with laws that will only do more damage, and deter people from taking up the sport.
… but it’s not just about the laws: It’s the whole toxic environment that governments have put us in.
The wrong attitude
REMEMBER how government used to support shooters?
Malcolm Frazer, former patron FGA
Remember how Premiers, Prime Ministers and even our Governor Generals used to be patrons of shooting organisations?
Things were good then.
NOW we’re looking at new laws in WA that will require regular mental health checks, limit gun ownership and make life for shooters hell.
That’s how bad things have become.
Here’s a few other reminders:
- We’ve seen appearance laws create uncertainty for everyone;
- We’ve seen NSW and Queensland misuse privacy laws;
- We’ve seen Victoria take an unacceptable position on duck hunting; and
- Tasmania ban schools from engaging in organised shooting events
These are left-wing agendas – that keep on going.
In this week’s live podcast, we’ll look at what else is being contemplated – and why the National Firearms Agreement is falling apart
They need a better attitude
The key question is, how can we change this?
We obviously want and need it to change.
Imagine if we could do something that ended up with better laws, better policies – and better governments that support the shooting sports.
If someone can do that, then there’ll be around 900,000 shooters who will finally have a break.
However, as a community, we’ve been struggling to work out what to do and be able put those actions in place.
There have been some wins along the way, but there’s no organisation that has been able to build on these, year after year.
It’s about politics
THE FUTURE of shooting hinges on politics.
Obviously our fight is about bad laws and bad government policies.
However, it goes well beyond that. That’s because whatever politicians say, ends up being the narrative in the media which the public then consumes.
It’s wrong, and it needs to change. The narrative about shooters is negative – and we need to convince our politicians to make it positive.
We do what shooters need done
POLITICS RELOADED is made up of shooters who have strong backgrounds and good track records in getting results for shooters.
We also understand how politics works, which means we’re well placed to develop, then execute, the strategies we need.
The most obvious one is that we call out bad behaviour when we see it.
We recently did this in WA where we revealed how the police minister put public safety at risk by revealing maps of shooters locations that WAPol now says was a public risk and created a shopping list for criminals.
We also take legal action to help shooters fight bad regulatory decisions – and we take your concerns to key state, territory and federal MPs.
We’re not expecting immediate results – but the more we grow, the more effective we’ll be.
Wouldn’t it be good if….
We run social and media campaigns that make it clear that we’ve got political problems that need to be fixed – and we will use our numbers to achieve that if need be.
We’re aiming to do a lot more of this, and eventually fund ads in the mainstream media. Doing this requires deep pockets and a strong membership.
That may seem overly aspirational but it’s not.
It’s where we need to end up. That’s because we have to get into a better position and engage a lot more in the political process – if we are to get our politicians to change their ways.
Imagine if our work resulted in pro-gun ads on TV …
Our politicians, the media and the public need to understand that shooting isn’t a risk to anyone. They need to know that shooting is a great sport, is good for the economy and environment – and why they need to support everything we do.
They also need to know that we’re prepared to go to any length to see it happen – because so far, they’ve been deliberately ignoring us.
That’s because most people outside shooting don’t understand how passionate many of us are about shooting, or why.
Aiming high
Can this be done? Yes, it can. It won’t be easy and it will take years to get there – but yes, it can be done.
It just needs to be done by the right organisation that has the right attitude, and the right level of support behind it. As we said, it will take years to get there, but we’re in for the journey.
We need your support
THE FUTURE of shooting is up to us all.
It matters to our families, gun clubs, industry, the economy, the environment and the community. That’s why it’s important to back us – because it won’t happen by itself.
You can do that by becoming a subscriber – for just $30 a year. That’s less than 60 cents a week. Or you can sign up for just $3 a month.
You’ll also get all our news and our regular podcasts that you can listen to whenever you want.
Please consider becoming a subscriber.
That’s going to help us build the organisation we need – one shooter at a time.
Or if you prefer to simply donate, then thank you! That will also help move us in the direction we need to go.
Why not put this on your club’s noticeboard?
When I was a kid in the 80’s, Australia had a real car culture. I remember BBQ’s where the main topic of conversation amongst the dad’s was the launch of the latest Ford or Holden (or for the brave, the latest Chrysler). Whichever brand you followed though, there was genuine passion. People were prepared to put their money where their mouth was. It was the main reason I ended up in the car industry. But somehow times changed. Car companies gradually became filled with people who weren’t really all that interested in cars. And long story short, today we can’t buy an Australian-made car. In hindsight, it was apathy that killed Australian cars. The assumption that they’d always just “be there”. Our ability to own and enjoy firearms is heading the same way. If we don’t unite soon behind our legitimate right to responsibly enjoy our passion, we’re going to lose the privilege. And it wont be the left, or the Greens, or the anti-gun self-interest groups or anyone else to blame – it’ll be our fault for not seing the writing on the wall.