The central firearms registry is in such a dire state that it would be unable to implement the proposed changes to the Firearms Control Act, according to Deputy Police Minister Maggie Sotyu. The registry is responsible for processing thousands of gun licence applications and renewals.Sotyu yesterday told parliament that she had found an outdated IT system and a high vacancy rate at the registry when she had visited earlier this year."A lot of personnel were fired due to corruption - which is a good thing - but they have not been replaced," she said. As a result, the registry's "state of readiness" for the changes in the law was "zero".Sotyu recommended that short-term contracts and interns be introduced to bolster staff numbers.The amendments to the Firearms Control Act impose stricter punishments on those who lose guns through negligence, and call for guns to be marked with microdot technology and to be sent for ballistic fingerprinting.Paul Oxley, representing sports shooters at the summit, said the microdots could easily be removed. He added that recent state senate hearings in Maryland in the US had shown that ballistic fingerprinting was "hugely expensive" but did not result in any convictions...