quote:

Ban all guns in SA, says DPP Stephen Pallaras


NICK HENDERSON, STATE POLITICAL REPORTER

October 15, 2007 10:00am

GUN ownership should be completely banned in South Australia, Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Pallaras claims.

Mr Pallaras's call to make all guns illegal follows two shooting incidents in the city over the weekend.

Reports of gunshots near the Centrepoint car park on Rundle St forced jittery police to lock down Pulteney St to North Tce, Grenfell St and part of Rundle Mall for three hours yesterday afternoon.

The panic incident happened only hours after an early morning drive-by shooting outside the Colonel Light Hotel, in Light Square, in which a man was critically wounded.

"It seems to me we are slipping into a mode where by we are coming to accept this is the sort of behaviour that we should tolerate in this city," Mr Pallaras told morning ABC radio.

"I think it is a time now while it is perhaps in its early stages to stamp on it hard.

"The answer is, in my view, gun control and gun eradication it is simply not enough to licence people with guns because that hasn't worked - people are still getting shot."

quote:

Govt rejects ban on all guns (see note below)



October 16, 2007 10:10am

THE State Government has rejected calls for a total ban on gun ownership, as police today declared one of the weekend shooting incidents a major crime

Police Minister Paul Holloway and Attorney-General Michael Atkinson said a total ban would disadvantage sporting shooters and farmers.

They said the government had already increased penalties for illegal gun use and gun-related crime was not on the rise.

Their comments came as the SA Police Association called for all police patrols to be issue wih Taser stun guns, to safeguard officers and help combat violent criminals.

Yesterday Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Pallaras suggested the ban as police continued to investigate two shootings in Adelaide, one of which left a man in hospital in a critical condition.

His comments were described as unrealistic by farmers, while the firearms lobby said it would do nothing to reduce crime or the number of illegal guns in society.

Mr Atkinson said today gun ownership already was strictly controlled in South Australia.

"The guns being used in street shootings have invariably been obtained on the black market through underworld fixers, such as the criminal bikie gangs," he said.

"I'm concerned that an unsophisticated attempt to ban all guns could see even more ending up in the hands of those criminal gangs."

Today police declared one of the weekend shooting incidents a major crime.

They said a 23-year-old man remained in a critical condition in hospital after being shot in the neck outside a gaming lounge.

The shot was fired from a moving vehicle with several more hitting windows of the building.

"Police believe the man was targeted and it was not a random act," a police spokesman said.

__________________________

John H.

..
NitroExpress.com - the net's double rifle forum