Now for the Australian Government propaganda...

[fallingblock]

Now that we've spent all that money and rounded up all those evil guns, we ought to be able to show some positive results, right?

Have a look at this con-job/press release by the Australian Institute of Criminology. Please note the creative use of 'firearms suicides':
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2 January 2004

The number of firearm deaths in Australia dropped by almost 50 per cent during the period 1991-2001, the Acting AIC Director, Dr Toni Makkai said today.

This information is contained in the latest in a series of papers produced as part of the Australian Institute of Criminology's National Firearms Monitoring Program.

This program was established in 1997 by the Australasian Police Ministers' Council to monitor the effects of the firearms controls introduced by the Australian Government in 1996.

The report found a total of 5,083 firearm related deaths during the 11 year period with suicides accounting for the majority (77 per cent). Homicide accounted for a further 15 per cent and accidental deaths accounted for five per cent.

Males and females aged 24-34 years were the most likely to be involved in firearm related deaths in Australia. People under the age of 15 were the least likely to be involved.

Nine out of 10 firearm related deaths involved males. This gender distribution remained the same over the 11 year period.

While males aged 65 years and older accounted for the largest number of firearm suicide deaths, in line with the general findings of the study, this number also dropped by almost 50 per cent.

The report also indicates that handguns are now being used more often in firearm related deaths.


Full report at: http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi2/tandi269.html

Comments?

 

[7.62FullMetalJacket]

Hey, the government reduced the number of suicides Please repeat after me, "you do not control your own body." Seems to me the government would be ecstatic about the 65 and older crowd doing themselves: reduces pension payments

 

[nico]

7.62, the report doesn't say that the government reduced the number of suicides. It says they reduced the number of suicides with firearms, which makes perfect sense to me. If someone wants to kill themself, why are they going to go through the trouble of comitting a felony by buying a gun illegally when they can just as easily use a knife or other method. I can't imagine being in the state of mind to want to end my own life, but I'd think that if I were going to attempt suicide with a gun, it wouldn't be one of those "call for help" attempts, it would be because I wanted to die and I'd use whatever effective means I had handy. I'd bet that while the number of firearm suicides decreased, the number of suicides by other means increased proportionally and there was no statistically significant change in suicide as a whole.

 

[7.62FullMetalJacket]

And I would bet you would be right

There is, after all, more than one way to skin a cat

Just more newspeak blather from a government bent on proving they were right

 

[BogBabe]

the report doesn't say that the government reduced the number of suicides.

Yep, there's a lot this report doesn't say. It doesn't say anything about the overall suicide rate. It doesn't say anything about the overall crime rate, or the overall violent-crime rate. It completely fails to notice that firearm deaths were already on a downward trend for years before the draconian gun control act was passed.

A friend of mine just got back from a several-month visit to Australia. She reported asking her host, while watching the news on tv, "What's up with all these reports of knife killings and bludgeonings?" His response? "Well, we're not allowed to have guns here, so we have to find other ways to kill each other."

 

[fallingblock]

BogBabe, I wish that the Australian public

were as astute as you are at reading between the lines!

************************************************************
"Yep, there's a lot this report doesn't say. It doesn't say anything about the overall suicide rate. It doesn't say anything about the overall crime rate, or the overall violent-crime rate. It completely fails to notice that firearm deaths were already on a downward trend for years before the draconian gun control act was passed."
************************************************************

This report is nothing more than a prevarication being used to justify the Howard Government's waste of Medicare Levy funds to confiscate with compensation some 700,000 legally-held firearms that were not a threat to public safety.

The illegally-held guns are still all out there, and indeed, the incidence of gang-related shootings in Western Sydney has been increasing alarmingly in recent months.:banghead:

This situation is all the more frustrating for lawful firearms owners in Australia as the media are spreading this report as gospel and cheering the success of the 'gun buyback' in 'making Australians safer'

You'll note that the summary closes with the statement:
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"The majority of firearms deaths were committed with a hunting rifle, although there has been an increase in the use of handguns."
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The 'hunting rifle' deaths were mostly suicides, but this seems to me to be the government telegraphing to us the next target in their confiscation agenda....all those murderous, dangerous 'hunting rifles'

The handgun comment leaves open the possibility of a total ban in the future....now we are allowed to own a limited number of handguns suitable for government-approved internationally recognised competitions.

Don't let this happen in the U.S..

Don't fall down the slippery slope of having to 'justify' your ownership of firearms.

 

[publius]

Don't worry, BogBabe is busy not letting it happen in the US. She bought me a Marlin 30-30 cowboy rifle for Christmas, and some ammo for it for my birthday, which is also Christmas.

 

[fallingblock]

Way to go, BogBabe!

And good taste in rifles as well.

Here in the Territory, you would have had to provide a reason or "need" to buy a .30-30 .

 

[BogBabe]

Provide "reason" or "need"? You poor thing. Boy, I hope it never gets that bad here.

 

[fallingblock]

And the worst thing is......

The Police won't accept the best reason:

"Because I want one!"

A .30/30 is a "B" Category firearm, along with all manually-operated centerfires and muzzleloaders (Yes, an amazing leap of logic there).

To obtain the 'permit to acquire' for the "B" category firearm, the only approved "needs" are hunting (for which a current licence and evidence of available property must be produced), club use (for which a current membership in a recognised club must be produced), or 'pastoral purposes' (for which one must own/manage a working cattle/sheep property or a farm of 'substantial size').

If your club does not shoot a lever action match or cowboy action, the Police will not be inclined to issue the approval.

All of this, of course, has little to do with preventing criminal misuse of firearms.

Enjoy that Marlin Cowboy!

 

[DadOfThree]

fallingblock,
here's the problem

Nine out of 10 firearm related deaths involved males.

They should just ban males. That would take care of 90% of the gun related deaths.

 

[fallingblock]

Sh-h-h-h, DadofThree.....

That idea would have supporters in the feminist's wing of the Greens Party, and there'd be plenty of Australian Democrats who'd sign on as well.