In a stark warning to U.S. gun owners, Australian weapons manufacturer Lance French says firearm control laws—once introduced—never stop expanding.
The owner of SGS Industries made the comments during the Western Australian Firearms Community Alliance meeting on April 1.
The meeting of gun owners and industry experts was held in reaction to impending state laws that will expand the gun control regime to ban high-powered firearms.
“Gun control doesn’t stop at a particular gun. It just keeps going. It’s relentless. It doesn’t stop,” French told The Epoch Times. “They’re making these false claims that certain items are dangerous when what’s dangerous is a person, and it’s a very low percentage of people.”
Following the 1996 Port Arthur massacre—that claimed the lives of 35 individuals—Australian governments began an ongoing program of gun control.
“They started the buyback, they got rid of semi-auto stuff, and they just kept going,” French said.
“What the U.S. can learn from us is that we are a living testament to the fact that it won’t stop. We’re down to bolt action rifles, and pump action rifles—can’t even have a pump action shotgun unless you fit certain criteria—it’s really restrictive, and you can’t even do it for self-defence.”
“The politicians keep cutting the corners and taking the edges off, and we’ll be left with nothing in a few years.”
“It always starts with pronouncements and proclamations that it’s going to do certain things for people’s own good and their safety—it’s always an overabundance of care. How does it end up? Totalitarian control.”
Meanwhile, gun owner Kate Fantinel said the WA government should turn its eye to cost-of-living pressures locally—notably rising inflation and interest rate rises.
“I think they should be looking at ways to use their big mining budget to help the people who need it the most, not creating problems out of thin air,” she said.
“Unfortunately, in Australia, people tend to turn to the government to protect themselves. I completely think it should be the other way around, that the individual should be responsible for looking after themselves,” she added.
