A Queensland billboard with a gun wrapped in Christmas paper has been criticised as sending the wrong message.
Queensland’s top cop has called for a billboard encouraging people to give guns as Christmas presents to be taken down.
An advertisement for Logan firearm store Gunworld shows a gun wrapped in Christmas paper under a Christmas tree with the slogan: “What’s under your tree this year?”
Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart told ABC radio in Brisbane people who use firearms for sport or work already know where to go to purchase guns.
“I would like to see the billboard taken down. I don’t think it’s necessary,” he said.
“The message that sends to me and to most people in the community would be quite abhorrent and against everything that’s really good about Australia.”
Firearms Owners United blasted the police commissioner for his comments about the advertisement which is not illegal.
“How is advertising a legal product to customers abhorrent? What about people who don’t know where to purchase firearms and are just getting into the sport?” the group said in a statement.
They told the commissioner to “stop being a pussy”.
“Have another soy latte and a lie down, Ian. I’m sure you have better things to do, like practice for your annual re-qualification shoot.”
Commissioner Stewart said Australia should be thankful for its firearm laws that have protected people from the levels of gun violence seen in other countries such as the United States.
“I don’t know when others are going to wake up, but we have, I think, the fairest gun laws in the world, we are the envy of countries around the world in relation to our gun laws,” he said.
