‘Doctors are protected’: Police try to reassure GPs over gun owner medical checks
Commander Lawrence Panaia says the Commissioner of Police, not doctors, is the ultimate decider on who is granted a gun licence.
Police in WA say doctors signing off a patient as fit to hold a gun licence will not be responsible if they subsequently misuse their firearm.
The State Government has introduced new laws requiring gun owners to submit health assessment certificates signed by their GP.
The move follows the murder of Jennifer Petelczyc and her 18-year-old daughter, Gretl, who were gunned down last year by Mark Bombara, the ex-partner of a friend they were trying to help, before he turned the gun on himself.
Some 90,000 gun owners in WA, including farmers and those working in pest control or security, will be affected by the changes.
