Combined Firearms Council of Victoria

Some time ago we received an email from a shooter of Chinese origin who as trying to help his friend get a firearms licence.

The problem?  His friend is on a student visa, and is not a “permanent resident”. 

Yet the Firearms Act only requires someone who applies for a licence to be “a person”: it says nothing about the applicant having permanent residency.

So the shooter decided to help his friend through the process.

The following email is worth a read. It’s in response to a rejection letter the student received and is self explanatory.

While it’s rare for us to praise the LRD, this is one instance where they deserve a pretty big pat on the back for how they redeemed themselves…

(Oh, and if you’re curious about what the Chinese writing means, it’s from the article below. If you are going to ask someone to translate, be warned it might not be appropriate to show it to someone at work…)

(To the CFCV)

You will recall the previous email regarding my friend’s situation. I got some good news, my friend has finally received his licence.

 Here is how I helped him:

1. Since the Act only mentioned ‘resident’, I asked him to prove everything that could convince the LRD officer that he is indeed a resident of Victoria regardless of his Visa status.

2. He is on a student visa and has a Chinese Driving Licence. I think the lack of any ‘Victorian Gov’ issued IDs is the main reason for that letter.  I helped him pass the Vicroads road knowledge test so he could obtain his Victorian licence.

3. A letter from the uni with his study details.

4. A letter from him stating how long he has been in Victoria along with some phone and internet bills backing that up.

 But what interested me most is what happened after he submitted the above docs.

 Here is what happened:

When he was on a road trip to a remote area in Victoria, he received a private number call. He picked it up and found it was a call from the LRD asking him some details. It seems whoever called was not expecting he actually would submit those documents.  He was asked when was his application initially filed. He thought about and said, how the fuck would I know? A little over a few months?

The officer apologised and said he was new to this job and didn’t know why this problem existed.  It seemed he just wanted to get this case finished and said he would have another look for the application. There is a reference number on the letter (which was mailed back with the supporting docs), which is, obviously, for reference. And still, my friend was asked dumb question like when did you file your application (the officer actually asked what was the date they received the application… how would my friend know when the LRD received the application?).

 Anyway, this is just an update for my friend’s case. He will be on his way to his first rifle. Hopefully we could start our hunting trip very soon.

So there you have it – great news.  The end result is that we now have another shooter among our ranks.

… and what does the Chinese writing mean?

As the student said, how the fuck would I know?

… literally…