Australia: "The trend gets worse "

[cuchulainn]

from the Daily Telegraph

http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=60887&storyid=405720

The trend gets worse

October 29, 2003

Until yesterday, Bicentennial Park was just another pretty part of the Harbour where parents take their children to play, where locals have picnics, play sport, jog and walk their dogs.

Today, it is just the latest venue for the disturbing spiral in Sydney gun crime, with an unidentified man, believed to be a jogger, shot and left to die on the grass.

There can be no clearer illustration of the brazenness with which Sydney's lawless will pull out and use illegal weapons.

As a society, we must not let these increasingly prevalent crimes of violence reach the stage where they drift off the front page, where we just shrug them away as a fact of life in a big, modern city.

Obviously, other big cities around the world have a much graver problem with gun violence than Sydney. Many others do not. In much of western Europe, in cities of a comparable size to Sydney, gun violence is rare.

There have been disturbing signs recently that the positive 2002 crime trends are reversing, and reversing at a distressing pace.

Be it drive-by shootings, the well-organised theft of guns from lax security firms, or continued gang activity in the southwest, too many people are getting guns too easily, and using them with reckless abandon.

We should not permit that gun violence ever be depicted as commonplace or mundane; this is surely the first signal of surrender against this deadliest form of criminal conduct.

Copyright 2003 Nationwide News

 

[Desertdog]

Be it drive-by shootings, the well-organised theft of guns from lax security firms, or continued gang activity in the southwest, too many people are getting guns too easily, and using them with reckless abandon.

Surprise, surprise. I notice they didn't mention anything about illegal gun sales, too many gun shops, too easy to buy guns.
Of course, they also didn't mention the fact that the average citizen has no way to protect themselves from the guys with illegal guns.

 

[fallingblock]

The antis here are getting confused.....

First they had the triumph of the '97 'buyback', where 640,000 long guns were "taken off the streets" (actually they were confiscated from law-abiding and licenced owners), then to find that the firearms-involved homicide death toll in 2001 was the same as in 1994 troubled them.

"it must be the handguns" they cried!

"Now, "buyback II", is underway, spending some $120,000,000 to confiscate with compensation the handguns of law-abiding & licenced owners...no licence - no compensation, although you may still surrender an 'illegal' handgun.

How CAN there still be shootings when the anti's have seen so many guns "taken off the street"?

Stupid is as stupid does

 

[DrPsycho]

Yes, let's introduce more gun laws - that'll keep us safer.

What's more distressing is, in light of all this - the brainwashed sheeples still believe either a) they aren't at risk of being a victim and b) the police will keep them safe.

The NSW state police commissioner went on TV stating he'll personally meet with anyone with any info regarding the spate of gang shootings in Sydney's west & south-west - now if that's not an admission of "We've got no leads, we need your help", I don't know what is.

I'm currently residing in Sydney's western suburbs, and I really do feel helpless. It's too difficult for me to obtain personal arms, and the local police has proven themselves not to be interested when during the vicious bloodshed in my backyard that occured in April of 2002. Didn't even send a squadcar out to take details...

 

[fallingblock]

DrPsycho.....

Western Sydney is getting to be one of those areas which just don't "feel right"....and the pace of the change is quickening.

One of our SSAA club members here in Alice has been down your way receiving medical treatment, and she is unhappy with the level of violence and helplessness also.

"Australia, poor fella him"

We're going off the rails and all the politicians can do is confiscate more lawfully-held firearms from those of us who are not in any way part of the problem

 

[Orthonym]

Well, DrPsycho:

You, a solid citizen, are presumably bigger, younger, stronger, and tougher than anyone who might do a crime of violence against you. Since the nasty criminals have all been disarmed, you obviously have nothing to fear. Why are you complaining? Are you dissatisfied with your Government? Are you a troublemaker? Shame on you! Maybe you need a visit from the Social Services people to find out if your mind is working right.

 

[fallingblock]

That would be funny.....

"Why are you complaining? Are you dissatisfied with your Government? Are you a troublemaker? Shame on you! Maybe you need a visit from the Social Services people to find out if your mind is working right."
************************************************************

If it wasn't so likely to be in Australia's near future

 

[Deadman]

DrPsycho which suburb do you live in exactly? (I reside in eastern Sydney).

 

[R-Tex12]

If any of you poor Sydneysiders are going to be up near the Sunshine Coast in February or March, it'll be my shout! We'll be staying in Sunshine Beach.


R-Tex12

 

[Zorro]

Sounds like Los Angeles Circa 1993, Cops had better things to do than get shot with "Illegal Automatic Firearms."

So they would show up 2 hours later and tally up the bodies.

Things will only get worse.

Central LA is FAR more dangerous than Baghdad! Only 3 dead today? HA!

 

[Nightfall]

Violent crime rises.

"We must need more gun control!"

Violent crime rises again.

"Hmm... must need more!"

And so on. It seems that the inability of anti-sheeple to make this simple leap of logic crosses all national borders. The irrationality of firearm phobia is universal.

Good luck Australia. Keep fighting the good fight.

 

[Sven]

There can be no clearer illustration of the brazenness with which Sydney's lawless will pull out and use illegal weapons.

There can be no clearer illustration of the way gun control laws punish honest citizens and reward criminals.

 

[Sean Smith]

The "thinking" involved in total gun bans is absolutely stunning in its stupidity.

Observation: People who commit murder are willing to risk life in prison, or even death, if caught.

Conclusion: They won't be willing to break a law with laxer enforcement and feebler penalties.