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2006: Howard says yes NEW gun restrictions
Radio97 says
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Just a note to you all here that Talkback will be Alive today as Alan Jones on Radio 2GB 873AM which has the Biggest radio audience in Australia will do a special show on Guns in light of the new proposals for Gun reform as talked about on the AussieSeek Messageboards
THE Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, has foreshadowed further restrictions on guns, saying nobody should have firearms unless they are an essential part of their job.
Mr Howard stressed his loathing of guns and said he was particularly concerned at the proliferation of pistols since rapid-fire rifles and shotguns were banned.
"I think there's still more that can be done on that front; I do. I'd always seize opportunities to do more," he said.
Mr Howard said he had no specific plan at this stage regarding pistols but hinted he was prepared to work again with the states on measures.
"We just do not need guns," he said.
"I don't think Australians need guns unless it's your job or you're in genuine need of protection." Only police, security officers, farmers and legitimate sporting shooters should have them, he said.
Mr Howard said there had been a "marked improvement" in gun-related deaths since the states and the Commonwealth combined after Port Arthur to outlaw semi-automatic rifles and shotguns.
His claim is supported in a new study, by the University of Sydney academics Simon Chapman and Philip Alpers, which finds the 1996 gun buyback resulted in "remarkable reductions in gun death".
The study, which monitored trends from 1979 to 2003, found that while murders, suicides and accidental shootings had been declining in the years before Port Arthur, the rate of decline had accelerated markedly after the gun buyback. From 1979 to 1996, there were an average 617 gun deaths a year. In the seven years since, that average has dropped to 331.
Mr Howard was only six weeks into his prime ministership when Martin Bryant killed 35 people at Port Arthur.
"It just seemed to me at the time that I had to do something about this," Mr Howard said.
"What is the point of holding an office with that authority unless you're prepared to use it?
"A few of the hardened experts around said, 'Oh, you can't do this. You won't get them to agree. We've tried this before.'
"I said, 'Well, blow it, I'm going to try this.' "
Mr Howard said the Australian Institute of Criminology reported firearm murders had fallen from 99 in 1996 to 38 in 2003. All gun-related deaths, including suicides, fell from 521 in 1996 to 299 in 2003.
He partly attributed a decline in the suicide rate among young males over the same period to "guns being a bit harder to put your hand on".
The Sporting Shooters Association of Australia said any move which targeted legal pistols would fail.
"If the Prime Minister is looking at handguns, we would be extremely disturbed because he has absolutely no evidence to warrant it," said Dr Jeanine Baker, the national research co-ordinator for the association.
Dr Baker said the 1996 buyback had had no effect because gun deaths were already declining. She said the money spent buying back 700,000 rifles and shotguns should have been spent on mental health and social programs for those most likely to use guns for killing.
Dr Baker said further bans on pistols would only hurt sport shooters because the overwhelming majority of pistols used in shootings were illegal.
She said less than 0.1 per cent of illegal pistols had been stolen from legitimate, licensed owners.
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Be Gunsafe and View the white-hot Debate over gun control legislation in World Countries including the USA and Australia at
----
http://aaamatilda.proboards67.com/
----
We offer a healthy dose of common sense to the national gun debate with views of both pro gun and anti gun supporters
join the debate and help us find solutions at Matilda Messageboards !
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Radio97 says
--------------
Just a note to you all here that Talkback will be Alive today as Alan Jones on Radio 2GB 873AM which has the Biggest radio audience in Australia will do a special show on Guns in light of the new proposals for Gun reform as talked about on the AussieSeek Messageboards
THE Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, has foreshadowed further restrictions on guns, saying nobody should have firearms unless they are an essential part of their job.
Mr Howard stressed his loathing of guns and said he was particularly concerned at the proliferation of pistols since rapid-fire rifles and shotguns were banned.
"I think there's still more that can be done on that front; I do. I'd always seize opportunities to do more," he said.
Mr Howard said he had no specific plan at this stage regarding pistols but hinted he was prepared to work again with the states on measures.
"We just do not need guns," he said.
"I don't think Australians need guns unless it's your job or you're in genuine need of protection." Only police, security officers, farmers and legitimate sporting shooters should have them, he said.
Mr Howard said there had been a "marked improvement" in gun-related deaths since the states and the Commonwealth combined after Port Arthur to outlaw semi-automatic rifles and shotguns.
His claim is supported in a new study, by the University of Sydney academics Simon Chapman and Philip Alpers, which finds the 1996 gun buyback resulted in "remarkable reductions in gun death".
The study, which monitored trends from 1979 to 2003, found that while murders, suicides and accidental shootings had been declining in the years before Port Arthur, the rate of decline had accelerated markedly after the gun buyback. From 1979 to 1996, there were an average 617 gun deaths a year. In the seven years since, that average has dropped to 331.
Mr Howard was only six weeks into his prime ministership when Martin Bryant killed 35 people at Port Arthur.
"It just seemed to me at the time that I had to do something about this," Mr Howard said.
"What is the point of holding an office with that authority unless you're prepared to use it?
"A few of the hardened experts around said, 'Oh, you can't do this. You won't get them to agree. We've tried this before.'
"I said, 'Well, blow it, I'm going to try this.' "
Mr Howard said the Australian Institute of Criminology reported firearm murders had fallen from 99 in 1996 to 38 in 2003. All gun-related deaths, including suicides, fell from 521 in 1996 to 299 in 2003.
He partly attributed a decline in the suicide rate among young males over the same period to "guns being a bit harder to put your hand on".
The Sporting Shooters Association of Australia said any move which targeted legal pistols would fail.
"If the Prime Minister is looking at handguns, we would be extremely disturbed because he has absolutely no evidence to warrant it," said Dr Jeanine Baker, the national research co-ordinator for the association.
Dr Baker said the 1996 buyback had had no effect because gun deaths were already declining. She said the money spent buying back 700,000 rifles and shotguns should have been spent on mental health and social programs for those most likely to use guns for killing.
Dr Baker said further bans on pistols would only hurt sport shooters because the overwhelming majority of pistols used in shootings were illegal.
She said less than 0.1 per cent of illegal pistols had been stolen from legitimate, licensed owners.
--------
Be Gunsafe and View the white-hot Debate over gun control legislation in World Countries including the USA and Australia at
----
http://aaamatilda.proboards67.com/
----
We offer a healthy dose of common sense to the national gun debate with views of both pro gun and anti gun supporters
join the debate and help us find solutions at Matilda Messageboards !
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