How effective is gun control?
 

WE all New this !

From: Ed Chenel, A police officer in Australia

Hi Yanks, I thought you all would like to see the real figures from Down Under. It has now been 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 in: Australia-wide, homicides are up 3.2 percent, Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.6 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. (Note that while the law-abiding citizens turned them in, the criminals did not ! and criminals still possess their guns!)

While figures over the previous 25 years showed a steady decrease in armed robbery with firearms, this has changed drastically upward in the past 12 months, since the criminals now are guaranteed that their prey is unarmed. There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins and assaults of the elderly.

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." You won't see this on the American evening news or hear your governor or members of the state Assembly disseminating this information.

The Australian experience proves it. Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws affect only the law-abiding citizens. Take note Americans, before it's to late!

AND THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE!!!!!

Splitmaster,

You got it in one! There has been an increase in firearm related crime here. But the story gets worse.
We have a Prime Minister here that is totally opposed to firearm ownership because he 'hates guns', and not for any other reason. When the initial 'buy-back' occurred, many decent,law-abiding, honest people were confronted with a choice - to coply with the new law - or otherwise. Outlawed were semi-automatic rifles including .22Cal, along with pump and semi-auto shotguns. Many of the people who owned this hardware chose to NOT abide with the law, at risk of huge penalties and inprisonment. At the present moment, there is another buy-back taking place with handguns.....above .38Cal and under specific barrel length - and again, at public expense. There is a push coming that will be along the lines of rifle calibre - ie: why does anyone need to own a .308Win?
There are an estimated three million firearms in the state where I live. What the legislators achieved here was to push these things underground. If anyone believes that this leads to a safer society then they are in the market to buy a cheap watch.
But then, our legislators here are like that....simply legislate - don't identify the root cause of a problem because that costs.
Meanwhile - a significant proportion of the community comes under ridicule. I think that's best described as divisiveness.
Take Care.
Paul.

Wow! sounds like it's time to move to New Zeland or something. The government is basically disarming the country and opening it up to criminals.

Wow Paul,

I had no idea our governments were that similar.

You have my utmost sympathy.

I know! Let's send NRAJOE down there to square 'em away!Oo.

I suspect Steve and Terry Irwin would both start shootin before he got within a 1000 yards of the airstrip.

Knowing Joe as I do, I suspect he will want to arm all the Crocks too - then where would Steve & Terry be?

BUT WAIT!!!!!! guns kill people not the people holding the gun!!!!! (just being a smart @#$)

uuuummmm, I think that is my job.

You have to admit; I am pretty good at it, too Oo.

Yes you are but I think I can hold my own too lol

I don't know if those statistics are correct, but I have to agree it hasn't stopped the criminals from getting guns, if anything it has encouraged them to use illegal hand guns more as they can be hidden easier.

I own a gun and have owned guns, the crap you have to go through to keep ownership of them is crap, if I was a criminal I could have an illegal gun by the end of the day.

As for the buy back scheme it didn't work, as most of the so called more dangerous guns that were owned by unlicensed owners kept them hidden, some I wonder why as they are not criminals and can not find somewhere to use them anyway i.e. fully automatic .22 etc, as using a rifle like that will surely get you caught from the sound of rapid fire.

I have only got a pea rifle now, a mate wanted to buy my 6.5mm X 55mm and as it lived at his place anyway I sold it to him, all by legal means that is. Unless you know someone with a large property and get on with them well, there is nowhere to use a rifle bigger than a .22, other than a club, which is a right pain in the arse!

My friend, even this 'ol backwoods hilbilly knows better than to argure with a Teamster. How 'bout if we share the responsibility for list smart &$%^ equally?

. . I know, you get weekends and every frikkin Holiday off too Oo.

OK OK Im not cheap but on special this week so it sounds like a plan:-X03

I fail to see why supposedly intelligent legislators can not grasp this??

Take Washington D.C. for example (!!please!!). To say owning and carrying a handgun there is restricted is ludicrous - it is virtually impossible for the average citizen. Yet D.C. has had the highest gun related murder rate in the Nation - for some time now to my understanding.

Just what part of that is not easy to interpret?? It makes my head spin :-X20.

I think it falls into the common sense catagory (or lack there of):-X03 :-X03

Breathing and a steady pull on the trigger are the two key elements in gun control.