Australian Gun Law

[Lextreme II]

This is what I got from an email. Is this true?

From: Ed Chenel, A police officer in Australia

Hi Yanks, I thought you all would like to see the now available data from Down Under.

It has now been one year (12 months) since gun owners in Australia were forced by a new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed by our own government, a program costing Australia taxpayers more than $500 million dollars.

The first year results are now available:

Australia-wide, homicides are up 6.2 percent;

Australia-wide, assaults are up 9.6 percent;

Australia-wide, armed robberies are up 44 percent (yes, 44 percent);

In the state of Victoria alone, homicides with firearms are now up 300 percent as compared with the last one year period when private ownership of a firearm was legal.

(NB: the law-abiding citizens did turn in their personal firearms, the criminal element did not and thus criminals in Australia still possess their guns.)

While data for the 25 years preceding the confiscation of privately owned guns showed a steady decrease in armed robbery with firearms, this has changed drastically upward in the past 12 months as criminals now are assured their victims will be unarmed.

There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins and assaults of the elderly, while the resident is at home.

Australian politicians are at a loss to explain how public safety has decreased, after such monumental effort and expense was expended in 'successfully ridding Australian society of guns.'

This story of well intentioned government intervention in the rights of lawful individuals to own and possess firearms won't be seen in the mainstream US media or on the American evening news.

President Obama who advocates a similar confiscation in the US will not be reporting any of this to you.

But, the Australian experience speaks for itself. Guns in the hands of h onest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws affect only the law-abiding citizens.

Americans may want to take note before it's too late!

FORWARD TO EVERYONE ON YOUR EMAIL LIST.

DON'T BE A MEMBER OF THE SILENT MAJORITY.

BE A PARTICIPANT IN THE VOCAL MINORITY WHO DOESN'T WANT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENED IN AUSTRALIA HAPPEN IN THE US !

 

[netgodsrdn2]

http://www.snopes.com/crime/statistics/ausguns.asp

 

[Cobber]

Laws brought in by people that have no idea.
The latest round was for hand guns of certain categories. Just what the crims want.

I lost my Ruger 1022 in the first gun buy back but could have easliy got double the government buy back value on the black market and just declaired it "damaged and disposed".

Keep a hold of your banjo's they will want tham next.

 

[duza]

I heard an interview on the radio recently with a spokesman from the Bureau of Crime Statistics which refute what is posted above, so I think this could just be propaganda by people who are scared of Obama's intentions.

I was one of the law abiding citizens who had to hand in my Pump action Shotgun back in the 90s when this law came into affect. I was annoyed. I was fully compensated, but it did have sentimental value. I was able to keep my other firearms though as it was only semi autos and pump actions which were made illegal. Autos were already illegal.

We can argue all day about your constitution and your right to bear arms, but I believe the Australian model of registering both firearms and users is a good one and our crime stats support that. Since the mass shootings at Port Arthur in the early nineties, which triggered the new laws, we have not had one deranged idiot marching into a public area and blasting away with such devastating results. There have been knifings and a couple of instances where one or 2 people have been gunned down, but not the Guiness book of records type events. Sure there are still plenty of illegal weapons in the underworld which get used in armed holdups etc, but by controlling the issue of firearms we have been able to control the killing sprees.

It would be very difficult for the Americans to get to this stage though, because of the sheer number of firearms in the community. The notion though that you need a big gun (which you may not be capable of using effectively) to protect yourself from armed intruders, who because of drug addiction or mental illness, value their lives less than we value ours, just does not stack up and has contributed to the view around the world that Americans are all rednecks whose answer to everything is force. This is obviously not true, but many around the globe believe it is.

 

[Cobber]

I agree that Australia has lost it's gun mentality and the days of buying a gun at Kmat after answering 10 questions are long gone.

Suitable firearms are available for sporting and vermin control if you want them. The problem is some of these suitable guns have also been crushed because they fall into categories like semi auto or auto, guns like my Ruger 1022 and Duza's pump action both fantastic vermin guns and legal just about everywhere else in the world.

Lots of opinion out there if you want to read about it for and against.

http://www.aic.gov.au/conferences/2004/lee.html

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national...-on-murder-rate/2006/10/23/1161455665717.html

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national...e-since-buyback/2006/12/13/1165685752421.html

http://www.victoriabanjoclub.com.au/home.html

http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/a-shot-at-safety/2006/04/27/1145861484114.html?page=fullpage

 

[JustenGT8]

What a crock of **** Lex....a barrow that has long since lost it's wheel and is now inpossible to push.

More guns = more offences with guns...pretty farking obvious

What you will find is that assaults with knives has gone up alot but hard there's a major cultural shift happening so it's mkore likely that is the cause rather than a lack of guns to shoot people with.

Whatever the weapon, it's an increasing violent world, and the simple fact of the matter is this is because it's easier to do violence. Over time people become increasingly desensitised to a level of violence so what was once considered extreme is no the norm and so the cycle continues.

In my youth, except for the most seriously 'tough' pubs full of bikers, it was unheard of for a fight to involve a weapon, or even a broken glass. Seems these days that it is becoming the norm...very sad and having more guns out there to 'defend' yourself is hardly the answer.

violence begets violence

 

[duza]

I agree that Australia has lost it's gun mentality and the days of buying a gun at Kmat after answering 10 questions are long gone.

Suitable firearms are available for sporting and vermin control if you want them. The problem is some of these suitable guns have also been crushed because they fall into categories like semi auto or auto, guns like my Ruger 1022 and Duza's pump action both fantastic vermin guns and legal just about everywhere else in the world.

Lots of opinion out there if you want to read about it for and against.

http://www.aic.gov.au/conferences/2004/lee.html

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national...-on-murder-rate/2006/10/23/1161455665717.html

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national...e-since-buyback/2006/12/13/1165685752421.html

http://www.victoriabanjoclub.com.au/home.html

http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/a-shot-at-safety/2006/04/27/1145861484114.html?page=fullpage

Totally agree, Cobber. I had a Browning .22 pump action when I was younger and I could literally fire it faster than a semi auto, if I had wanted to. It's still legal, whereas the semi autos are not. Unfortunately, in order to legislate to protect everyone, there will always be a few loopholes and a few innocent and responsible people who are adversely affected, but that's just life. I believe Australia is a better place now that we have decent gun laws. People are getting away from the thought they must have a gun and most kids are growing up never yurning for one. Cars kill enough of our kids, but at least we can argue the necessity of owning one.

 

[rms]

Keep a hold of your banjo's they will want tham next.

Some would say "and rightly so"

The drummer was so bad, even the banjo player noticed.

 

[netgodsrdn2]

I have no problem with others choosing what best suits them when it comes to what specific weapons they allow. And having never even been to Australia, the last thing I want to do is judge your laws. But in regards to the U.S. I can say that the police might claim "To protect and serve", but in reality they clean up the mess after the "protecting" was or wasn't done. So as long as that is the environment I live in I will continue to protect my family and property with my semi-automatic handguns and pump action shotguns.

 

[JustenGT8]

I have no problem with others choosing what best suits them when it comes to what specific weapons they allow. And having never even been to Australia, the last thing I want to do is judge your laws. But in regards to the U.S. I can say that the police might claim "To protect and serve", but in reality they clean up the mess after the "protecting" was or wasn't done. So as long as that is the environment I live in I will continue to protect my family and property with my semi-automatic handguns and pump action shotguns.

and why do you think that's the environment you're in??

for mine, if i needed to protect my loved ones with a gun i'd be moving...stuff living with that over your head every day

 

[netgodsrdn2]

and why do you think that's the environment you're in??

for mine, if i needed to protect my loved ones with a gun i'd be moving...stuff living with that over your head every day

That is the environment I'm in because the U.S. was founded and settled using guns. They aren't necessary in day to day life here anymore for most people. But it is still very ingrained in this nation that it is our own duty to protect ourselves...

Don't get me wrong I am all in favor of keeping guns out of actual crazy peoples hands. I just don't think that everyone who wants a gun is crazy...
If you lived in the U.S. and didn't want to have a gun I'm quite sure you could live a peaceful life without one.

 

[Pro]

must be an old email - i thought guns were "surrendered" (ie confiscated or fined THEN confiscated) almost 10 years ago now...?

 

[JustenGT8]

That is the environment I'm in because the U.S. was founded and settled using guns. They aren't necessary in day to day life here anymore for most people. But it is still very ingrained in this nation that it is our own duty to protect ourselves...

Don't get me wrong I am all in favor of keeping guns out of actual crazy peoples hands. I just don't think that everyone who wants a gun is crazy...
If you lived in the U.S. and didn't want to have a gun I'm quite sure you could live a peaceful life without one.

Agreed, i'm not anti gun per se.....i just think that much tighter gun control (like say the UK) would have alot of the US much safer than it is today?

 

[Jake Breyck]

I agree with netgodsrdn2 about the us police, It if doent turn a profit for them theyre not intrested in doing anything. If you report a crime it can take them an hour to show up, and when they show up its some rookie girl cop alone who acts like your issue isnt a big deal, jots some notes down and leaves and you never hear from them again, but if your going 5mph over the speed limit with a slightly modified car forget it, they will have 6 police cars around you and your interior out on the pavement for an hour, ask you a million trick questions trying to get you to admit your a drug dealer, drunk, or out street raceing, all wile its 5pm on a tuesday and your just heading home from work. then leave you with 500$ worth of tickets on things you didnt even know where laws.

 

[stevechumo]

I don't think Australia has the 2nd Amendment...:tongue: That's why they find there's no reason to hold on to it. LOL

 

[91_4x4runner]

Say you want, but I'll be a law-abiding Texan and US citizen until they try to take away one of the few fundamental rights we have left. It isn't owning the firearm thats the problem. It's people who aren't educated enough to own one. People who claim that their gun "just went off" while they were cleaning it. I don't know about y'all, but I certainly can't clean the barrel if there's a damn cartridge blocking it. It's people who hold a weapon as an offensive tactic instead of a defensive one. I could understand barring a criminal (read: felon) from possessing a weapon, but not J. Smith who just uses it for target practice, hunting and property defense.

Even in the classes for getting a concealed weapon permit in Texas, they emphasize that you should never pull your weapon except in the most dire situations.

 

[netgodsrdn2]

I basically agree with you, although I would add that I don't think folks with a history of mental issues are particularly desirable gun owners either.

Say you want, but I'll be a law-abiding Texan and US citizen until they try to take away one of the few fundamental rights we have left. It isn't owning the firearm thats the problem. It's people who aren't educated enough to own one. People who claim that their gun "just went off" while they were cleaning it. I don't know about y'all, but I certainly can't clean the barrel if there's a damn cartridge blocking it. It's people who hold a weapon as an offensive tactic instead of a defensive one. I could understand barring a criminal (read: felon) from possessing a weapon, but not J. Smith who just uses it for target practice, hunting and property defense.

Even in the classes for getting a concealed weapon permit in Texas, they emphasize that you should never pull your weapon except in the most dire situations.

 

[JustenGT8]

Even in the classes for getting a concealed weapon permit in Texas, they *emphasize* that you should never pull your weapon except in the most dire situations.

LOL no problem then, that'll stop em for sure ;-)

 

[91_4x4runner]

LOL no problem then, that'll stop em for sure ;-)

Take a step back from what you just said. You're asserting that the people who LEGALLY possess a concealed weapon are more likely to pull it than some asshole "pulling his '9 to rob somebody".

What do you think the ratio of people defending themselves with a weapon to people robbing with a weapon is? For those with a permit as well, there's a book of rules on what they can and can't do. It isn't a "you have it, so use it all the time" scenario...