Overview
Franks Ogilvie assisted licensed firearm owner, Rachel Stewart, who had her licence suspended due to a satirical tweet.
Issue
Significant changes have been made to the Arms Act in the last two years including a more detailed test for ‘fit and proper’, the key test for a person to obtain a firearms licence. This detail includes a list of grounds that could prevent a successful application or reasons for a licence to be suspended or revoked. There continues to be a wide discretion for Police to seek information and base their decision on factors outside of those explicitly listed in the Act.
Ms Stewart came to Franks Ogilvie after receiving a notice that her firearms licence was suspended and asking her to surrender her firearms to Police while an investigation was undertaken. The suspension was on the basis of a tweet Ms Stewart made during a discussion on Twitter on a proposed law change. It was a satirical tweet that some users objected to. They made a complaint to the Police.
The former ‘fit and proper’ test, that was much more general, provided some insight on how Police may apply the new test but it cannot be relied upon. Particularly on the grounds the Police relied upon which included ‘threating any form of violence’ and ‘any other relevant matters’. The latter ground was expressed as ‘demonstrating any form of hatred’.
Ms Stewart’s case also attracted some media attention. She sought advice on how the manage this attention without jeopardising her submission to keep her licence.
What we did
A suspension allows the licensed firearm owner to make submissions to support the lifting of suspension. We examined the grounds setout by the Police and based on information from the client, outlined how the grounds were not supported by evidence. In particular, we sought clarification on the how the grounds the Police relied upon were defined. As this was a new test, it was important it was implemented in line with Parliamentary intent.
You can read a copy of the submission here.
We also advised Ms Stewart on the type of person she should seek for her character references and what information they should cover.
Outcome
Ms Stewart had her suspension lifted and did not face revocation of her licence. She was able to get her firearms returned.
If you would like advice on firearms law, please contact Director Brigitte Morten.
