Look behind yesterday’s meme and you find a whole lot of not so funny.
The Western Australian government has decided that all gun owners in the state require a mental health test. Because gun owners are, presumably, just more inclined by nature to be volatile short tempered dangers to the community. Liable to commit murder in a heartbeat.
Nothing yet on mental health tests for owners of rat poison, kitchen knives, or cars. Or even hammers.
Remarkably, the daily fishwrap has run a dissenting opinion:
In 2019, there were 0.72 gun deaths by suicide per 100,000 people in WA. Suicides in general were 15.82 per 100 000 people. While 83 per cent of people who die by suicide are thought to have a mental health issue, diagnoses such as depression only require a two-week period of symptoms and it is unlikely gun access is sought solely for the purpose of self-harm. Sadly, we know all too well from the data that of the more than 3400 suicides in Australia each year, most do not hold gun licences. If people want to take their own lives, having a gun is not a pre-requisite.
Going further, the state government has placed a ban on a range of firearms and calibres. A buy back scheme will be initiated.
Gun owners are not doing much to help themselves. The Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party WA membership is about 10% of the state’s LAFOs.The party has elected members in recent years to the New South Wales state parliament, but that representation is disintegrating amid resignations and accusations of branch stacking. You don’t have to be a big political party to enjoy the dubious benefits of internal ructions.
I’m not a gun owner, but I support responsible gun ownership. And I know from personal experience that the local authorities can make life tough for gun owners. Several years back, during my days with a major fasteners firm, I was suddenly hit with a series of inquiries about a washer that was completely out of normal specifications. Something like 40mm outer diameter, 20mm inner, and 5mm thick. This, I discovered, was the washer specified by the police for securing any wall mounted gun cabinet.
My firm wasn’t able to supply, but a few owners pooled their resources and got a few thousand custom made at a local washer producer. Their current predicament is unlikely to be so easily resolved.
UPDATE: A few holes get poked in the information about banned calibres.
The mind is an unexplored country. 
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