If people with the right license categories register firearms, will they be grabbed off the licensee at renewal?
A few days ago, we wrote to Queensland Police Service’s Firearms Amnesty Project (FAP). We asked:
Queensland Police Service Weapons Licensing Branch has a special way of assuring people that their proposed arrangements are perfectly acceptable. And then at a later license renewal an unpleasant surprise springs: you can no longer own particular firearms that are registered to you. Weapons Licensing have decided you do not have a genuine reason or perhaps you have more firearms registered than Weapons Licensing would like.
A farmer may have one category C shotgun for use on her farm. If she registers another category C shotgun under the amnesty, will she be told at her next license renewal that she now has too many category C shotguns, her license will only be endorsed for one shotgun and she must dispose of the other?
A pest controller licensed to use Category H pistols might be a fool to try and register any more pistols to his license under the amnesty. Members of Weapons Licensing are on a notorious magical quest to refuse all renewals possible.
What assurances will you give that firearms will not be grabbed off hardworking farmers and rural workers through calculated administrative action at their next license renewal?
The FAP Inspector writes back
Whilst I appreciate your concerns regarding having more firearms registered than the licensee’s licence permit, these law abiding firearm owners are then in a position to sell the now registered firearms.
FAP ignores the question and substitutes an imaginary one
We gave FAP two examples and asked two questions. The first was essentially whether Weapons Licensing would give a farmer an approval for two category C shotguns if they registered the second one under the amnesty. Weapons Licensing can do this any day of the week and it seems like a pretty small deal (see regulation 31, especially 31(2)). What real additional risk is a farmer with a second category C shotgun? Instead, FAP – and Weapons Licensing – are taking the hard line: hand it in and sell it.
The second example and question implied: will Weapons Licensing back-off on their quest to rip pistols off farmers and pest controllers? Or will they keep targeting them, particularly if they’ve located a pistol (usually from another person who had one unregistered) to register it under the amnesty?
FAP’s answer: locate and register firearms under the amnesty and you may not have them registered for long
Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.