With three days to go, a petition against the Firearms Bill has reached more than 30,000 signatures, making it the most signed e-petition ever held in WA.
The petition was launched on April 10 by former Member of Parliament Rick Mazza, who has been a long-standing advocate for gun owners.
In June last year, an e-petition against the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act amassed 29,714 signatures, making it the second largest petition in WA.
Mr Mazza said it was wonderful so many supported the petition.
"It just shows the level of concern that people have got over the Firearms Bill," he said.
Mr Mazza said he had spoken to many people who signed the petition because they were concerned about infringements on personal liberties.
"A large portion of those people who signed probably don't even own a gun, they're just concerned about the government overreach," he said.
The petition calls for a public inquiry, giving gun owners as well as the broader community the opportunity to raise their concerns, and give insight into their gun ownership.
"It will be interesting to see what the Government does with it," Mr Mazza said.
"They've got crushing numbers in both houses, whether they just continue as a totalitarian government or act more democratically and hear out the people, it's hard to say at this point," he said.
The Western Australian Firearms Community Alliance (WAFCA) said in a statement that the number of signatures has sent a clear message to the WA Labor Government to stop and listen.
WAFCA spokesman and SSAA WA state president Paul Fitzgerald said the 90,000 licensed firearm owners in WA deserve to be listened to and deserve to be bound by laws that allow them to conduct legal shooting activities in a safe and responsible manner.
"WAFCA wouldn't need to exist if the WA Labor Government was genuine in its claimed goals of protecting public safety and adopting the recommendations for firearm reform from the 2016 Law Reform Commission into the Firearms Act," Mr Fitzgerald said.
"Their inaction in addressing the illegal firearm networks that exists across the country and guns being used by criminals is further evidence of the WA Police Minster wasting resources on gun buybacks instead of directing resources to law enforcement and actually protecting the community.
"Instead, they have attempted to paint licensed firearm owners as the problem and convince the WA public that Olympic level athletes pose a danger to the community, along with regular mums and dads that shoot recreationally to control vermin on rural properties from Broome to Esperance," he said.
Mr Fitzgerald said the Government "had been given every opportunity to listen and has now been provided with the clearest signal yet that a significant section of the voting population do not agree with many of the changes."
Wagin farmer and clay target shooter, Jim West, said he was happy to see the petition receive so much support.
"The petition was excellently worded by Rick Mazza," Mr West said.
"I'm very pleased that the petition has hit the numbers it has.
"You would think now the Government would take some interest in having some proper public inquiry," he said.
The petition closes on May 6.
Perri Polson
Perri is an agriculture journalist with Farm Weekly. Born in regional Victoria, Perri developed a love of regional and rural news at a young age, and is now passionate about advocating for the agricultural industry. Her interests include science, agronomy, livestock and food production.
Perri is an agriculture journalist with Farm Weekly. Born in regional Victoria, Perri developed a love of regional and rural news at a young age, and is now passionate about advocating for the agricultural industry. Her interests include science, agronomy, livestock and food production.
